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"Following in the footsteps of the Fathers." 

THE HISTORY 

OF 

American Expansion 

AND 

THE STORY OF OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 

THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR AND THE HEROES OF '98. 

OUR GLORIOUS FIGHTS FOR HUMAN LIBERTY. 

BUILDING THE GREAT REPUBLIC. 

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND COMPLICATIONS. 

OUR CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC. 

THE NICARAGUA CANAL. 

Seven Great Books in One Superb Volume. 

Being the Political, Commercial, Physical, and Geographical History of Hawaii, Porto 
Rico, Cuba, the Philippines and the other Islands now Under our Control, and a 
Complete and Authoritative Account of the Progress of the Spanish- Ameri- 
can War — With Dewey at Manila — With Miles in Porto Rico— Samp- 
son, Schley, and Shaffer in Cuba— With the Red Cross on the 
Battlefield— With the Peace Commissioners in Paris — Our 
Command of the Pacific and the Nicaragua Canal, 
Showing our Brilliant Advance to a Commanding 
Position Among the World's Great Nations. 



V BY 

MURAT HALSTEAD. 



Beautifully Illustrated with Sketches and Photographs^ 
and Containing a Profusion of Maps. 



THE UNITED SUBSCRIPTION BOOK PUBLISHERS 
OF AMERICA. 



El /7<? 
■Hrcj 



2B769 



Copyrighted, 1898, by F. OLDACH, Sr. 



TVii'O C0P1F& 



I MAR13ieP9 ]) 



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H A X . I — O »- I V f 



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Inscribeb 

TO THE Immortal Memory of 
THE American Heroes and Statesmen 

WHO Augmented 

the Area of the Original Colonies, 

Multiplied the United States Upon Territory 

THAT Belonged to 

the Three Great Nations of the Earth 

IN THE Century 

when our Broad Foundations were Laid, 

England, France, and Spain, 

Extending our Boundaries from the Great Lakes of 

the North to the Great Gulf of the South and 

from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. 

It is the Logic of their Glory that we Should Enlarge 

THE Scope of their Ambition, 

Extend the Application of their Principles, 

Advance the Flag they Raised, 

Expand the Wings of the Eagle of the Republic, 

Including 

within our Imperial Dominion 

THE Fairest of the Islands 

of the Seas. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 



ON the front of the palace at Versailles, is in golden 
letters the famous inscription, "To All the Glories 
of France," and the splendor of the sentiment has pre- 
served from the ruthless hands of revolution, and from 
defacement by enemies in temporary triumph, the marbles 
of the magnificent edifice and the proud letters of gold. 
The memories of nations have many forms of expression, 
and it is not those distinguished by pomp that seem to 
have been the most certainly preserved and to possess the 
greater assurance of perpetuity. In the mounds of the 
ancient cities on the Euphrates, in the hills of desolation 
that mark the sites of mighty capitals, are found cylinders 
of burnt clay on which are the records of the dynasties 
that have otherwise perished, of peoples among whose 
memorials no tower stands to tell the tale of the race, no 
arch abides to speak of the vanished ages or locate in the 
abyss beyond the era of history, the Empires that are lost. 
It Is the cylinder of clay that has the quality of immortality. 
Still more in the printed leaves of our time will be found 
the pages that minister to the pride of people, and on 
which are inscribed the lessons of the rise and fall of 
nations that shall enshrine the lives of great men and 
apply the excellence of good deeds. 

It is hoped in this volume to assemble the glories of 
our country, not alone those of war, but of peace, and 
especially to celebrate the policies that are executed for the 
general welfare, and the things that are done with public 
purpose for the common good. This is to array the events 
that are luminous on the paths of "Progress we have 

5 



"6 THE A UTHORS PREFA CE. 

passed. Our country is in evidence before the world. Its 
foundations spanning a continent, its States an arch between 
the two greater oceans of the globe, its position is a com- 
manding one. To us is committed the leadership of the 
Freemen of a Hemisphere. We emerged from a colonial 
State ruled by remote masters, through war to indepen- 
dence, and we have been consolidated and at the same time 
extended and self-educated through war. The same gen- 
eral outlines of advancement are marked in the other 
American Republics that have advanced and arisen from 
the condition of European dependencies to be sovereign 
States. 

In our hundred days of war with Spain we settled ques- 
tions that had been gathering intensity for a hundred years. 
We freed peoples — the original purpose of challenging 
the barbarous misgovernment of Spanish colonies. We 
conquered the richest islands of the Indies, East and West, 
and hold them as our possessions by the same title that 
Texas and California are States of the Union. Where the 
flag of the nation flies, the grievances identified with Spain's 
colonial system, whether peopled by her children or not, 
vanish, and the oppressed, made free, seek the safeguards of 
our institutions, believing, according to their enlightenment, 
in our faith, freedom, and honor. They will not be despised 
and rejected, but received and protected ; not in States but 
in Territories, under the laws of Congress and the com- 
mands of the Chief Executive of the Nation. The irre- 
sistible tendency of this emancipation and education is to 
Americanism — and in every clime and all races, to Ameri- 
can citizenship, as the sovereign people of the United States 
may, in their wisdom, determine. 

MURAT HALSTEAD. 



INTRODUCTION. 



THE national policy of the people of the United States 
was simplified by the war of states and sections into 
which we were drifting forty years ago. War educates 
and legislates. As we emerged from the conflict of states 
and nations one and indestructible, many and indivisible, it 
was into a consciousness that we had underestimated our 
strength in our Fourth of July literature. We had so 
adorned ourselves with complacency, were so pleased with 
compliments, that we had omitted to give our capacity due 
estimation. We were most appreciative of our splendor, 
but had an inadequate estimation of the substance that 
sustained the glittering show. The North and South had 
confronted each other as great nations, and there was a 
kindling, on both sides, of pride in the One Nation whose 
majestic outlines were soon sharply defined, while the com- 
bined energies of the people, developed for destruction, 
were devoted to the works of the soil and shops ; and the 
marvelous land we have inherited prospered beyond 
example. There has been much more than our material 
progress. We have lifted ourselves among the group of 
the nations of the earth, and are shoulder to shoulder with 
the loftiest of them. We have a giant's strength, and have 
not ill-used it. All-absorbing Russia consented to sell us 
the huge territory of Alaska, and its archipelago that ex- 
tends across the North Pacific. There were those who 
shrank from more territory, were feeble-minded about 

7 



8 INTRODUCTION. 

the natives, and worked up for misuse the phrase " entan- 
ghng alhances." That sort of conservatism has been, as 
always, discredited with results. Russia has not enough 
money to buy the land that she sold us for seven millions — 
and yet she has not lost as we have gained. Our enrich- 
ment has not been her impoverishment. It is the mighty 
magic of our fortune that transforms all that becomes ours. 
It was so with Louisiana, California and the rest. It will 
be so with Cuba and Hawaii. Mexico never had what we 
gained, and the land, and the rivers, and the sky she keeps, 
have a natural opulence that needs many generations of 
labor for full revelation. 

In Our Relations With All Other Nations, we have, since 
the stalwart unity that the war made, in making us ac- 
quainted, more and more manifested ourselves. The em- 
pire established by the French in Mexico was offensive to 
us and disappeared at our command. We called upon 
England to accept, in the interest of peace, the responsibility 
for the privateering which she provided in the "Alabama." 
She comprehended the obligation and had the statesman- 
ship to pay the bill. The world seemed to find out our 
rank among the great peoples and powers before we did. 
We are the Dominant Power of the Western Hemisphere — 
so called because the American continents were found, by 
those who knew the art of navigation, when voyaging west- 
ward. This dominance is not necessarily to be used for 
our own selfish purposes of increase, but for the good of 
the American countries that defer to us on account of the 
seniority of our Republic — and that we insist that European 
colonies or colonization systems are out of date here. We are 
not interfering in the Old World, but America must be let 
alone for Americans. That is the brevity and beauty of the 
Monroe Doctrine. Spain is losing the last of her American 



INTR OD UCTION. ^ 

islands as she lost all her American continental empires. 
Look at the map and see whether we are not concerned. 
We are more interested than either Spain or Cuba in 
"The Pearl of the Antilles," and we are in such relations 
with Spain that she is appealing to Europe against us. The 
effect of this cannot be other than to press us to the front 
of the nations — to augment our sense of power and the 
sensibilities of others of it. 

The world is a neighborhood. We are one of the big 
neighbors and our vast possessions have not caused to pale 
the original spirit of liberty — but heightened that patriotism 
that was aflame in our country before the forms of political 
expression were organized. Our country will no longer 
play a role of meekness because we may or may not have 
enemies beyond the seas. We shall make our potentiality 
felt in other lands — not as Jingo or Fillibuster — but as an 
armed nation that will stand with head among the stars 
where the red, white and blue are, sword in hand ! We 
have a glorious record of wars, and this book shall tell of 
them — and of other wars in the Americas that have broken 
foreign bonds and helped to Americanize America. We 
shall celebrate the freedom from the despotism that once 
kindled baleful fires within sight of our shores, from the 
misgovernment that compelled Cubans to fight to the death 
— for the battle of American freedom against Spanish des- 
potism has been won all the way from our own Carolinas 
to Cape Horn. The manifest destiny of the islands of the 
American seas is that of the disenthralled continents — with 
a higher and, we trust, broader and brighter enlightenment 
of those who have studied the Schools of Sorrow from 
which come the Teachings of Wisdom. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



CHAPTER I. 
How we Grew to be One of the Great Powers . 21 

CHAPTER II. 
Our Early Territorial Prospects . . . 'Si 

CHAPTER III. 
The French as our AlHes in the Revolution . . 49 

CHAPTER IV. 
Our First Appearance as a Sea Power ... 60 

CHAPTER V. 
Conquest of the Northwest Territory » , • 6^ 

CHAPTER VI. 
Jefferson's Territorial Enterprise • • • • 93 

CHAPTER VII. 
Tecumseh Plans to Halt Expansion , . . 108 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Race for Oregon , . . . . .119 

13 



FACE 



14 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IX. 
Jackson and the Spaniards in Florida . . .130 

CHAPTER X. 
The Annexation of Texas . . . , .151 

CHAPTER XI. 
Our War with Mexico . . , . . .159 

CHAPTER XII. 
The Battle of Cerro Gordo . . . . .179 

CHAPTER XIII. 
The Battles Before the City of Mexico . . . 202 

CHAPTER XIV. 
The Acquisition of Alaska . . . . .220 

CHAPTER XV. 
Hawaii, our First Pacific Colony . . . , 9 2^ 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Our Relations with Other Nations .... 237 

CHAPTER XVII. 
When our Navy Won Great Glory . , . .252 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
War with the Pirates of the Mediterranean . .286 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Our Relations with China . , , , . 298 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



15 



CHAPTER XX. 

The Beginning of Spanish Decadence . , . 304 

CHAPTER XXI. 

History Repeats Itself in Cuba . . . .319 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Mexico's Wars of Independence .... '^'^'i, 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Spanish Despotism in Cuba ..... 346 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Our Country, Spain and the Future . , . 356 

CHAPTER XXV. 

The Crisis in Cuban Affairs . . . . '371 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
The Battle of Manila ...... 394 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

The Santiago Campaign . . . . . .419 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Our National Defence and Heroism . . . 461 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
The Porto Rican Campaign . . . . .482 

CHAPTER XXX. 
The Fall of Manila 501 



1 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
Peace Negotiations . . . . . . • 5 1 1 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

The Red Cross in our War with Spain . , .521 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 
Our West Indies 531 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 
The Story of the Phihppine Islands . . -538 

CHAPTER XXXV. 
The Remaining Spanish Possessions . . . 564 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 
The Conquest of the Pacific ..... 583 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 
American Expansion ...... 603 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
Our International Pohcy . . . . . .612 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 
The Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Peace 639 

CHAPTER XL. 
The Treaty of Peace Ratified 659 

CHAPTER XLI. 
The Filipino Rebellion 68 1 



AMERICAN EXPANSION. 



CHAPTER I. 

HOW WE GREW TO BE ONE OF THE GREAT POWERS. 

Our Thirteen Original States the Bulwark of American Independence — The Great 
West gave us Our Imperial Standing — Our Vast Dominion is an Impregnable 
Fortress, yet We Must be Prepared for the Greater Wars that are to Come. 

From the birth of our great republic it was destined that 
we should become one of the ruling nations. The centre 
of civilization, and consequently that of the ruling power, 
was across the Atlantic from us when we began our exist- 
ence, and our Thirteen Original States formed the breast- 
work that defended the great West, soon to be a part of 
the coming republic of republics, the forerunner of the 
establishment of freedom throuo-hout the Americas — the 
great champion of human liberty. In our vast dominion, 
when we had reached the Pacific, there was established an 
impenetrable stronghold for the people, safe against the 
attacks of all the world, and thus we grew to be a great 
power, not by militarism, like the great powers of Europe, 
but by our geographically commanding position in the 
Western Hemisphere and our liberal institutions. Sepa- 
rated, as we were, by oceans and by ages from war as the 
natural occupation of a people, the elements of strife were 
lacking in our land of plenty and of liberty. All this led 
to a belief among us that war was a thing of the past. 

What should or could we fear ? Oregfon at the mouth of 

2 21 



2 2 HO IV WE CREW TO BE ONE OF THE GREAT POWERS. 

the Columbia was ours. The mouth of the Mississippi was 
ours also ; and orators were accustomed to say, as a climax, 
that our possessions extended from Maine to Florida. We 
were isolated in our own grandeur; and our free, popular 
government guaranteed us against the contention of com- 
munities. If we wanted anything settled, we had only to 
take a vote on it, — and there was the infallible Constitution 
of the United States. As for differences among sections, 
Andrew Jackson had threatened Calhoun with condign 
punishment if he crossed the line of national prerogative 
with the doctrine of nullification. Concerning slavery, 
Washington owned many slaves ; and the Bible commanded 
servants to obey their masters. And as for cranks, they 
should be judged and dealt with according to law. We had 
liberty that would solve all troubles, though it had not been 
precisely proclaimed " throughout the land and to all the 
inhabitants thereof," according to the inscription on the 
Declaration of Independence Bell. 

It is but half a century since we found ourselves at war 
with Mexico. Texas and California were added by the 
sword to our sisterhood of states, and it is one of the happy 
facts of history that our gains did not turn out to be Mexico's 
losses. There was a profound disturbance in Europe that 
sent Continental monarchs Hying. After all, the volcanoes 
were not extinct. The great wars since those days have 
been that of the Crimea, in which England, France, Turkey, 
and Sardinia fought the statesmanship of Russia, and Tur- 
key was preserved as a living Asiatic menace in Europe ,* 
then the war of France against Austria, culminating at Sol- 
ferino ; the war of our States that closed at Appomattox ; 
the French invasion of Mexico ; the war in which Prussia 
beat down Austria at Sadowa ; the Franco-German war, in 
which Paris fell and France lost Alsace and Lorraine ; ancj 



HOW WE GREW TO BE ONE OF THE GREAT POWERS. 23 

the war of Russia against Turkey, that roared around 
Plevna, There were the wars of the Mutiny in India, of 
the occupation of Egypt, of the fall of Khartoum, the wars 
to open the ports of China, the war in which Chili struck 
down Peru, the civil war in Brazil, the war in which Japan 
put China to the sword, the wars in Cuba, and the Turco- 
Grecian war. 

No continent has been exempt; and the latest of this 
series of combats is not the least, so far as we are con- 
cerned. The increase of military and naval armaments 
within this generation has been beyond example. The 
armed nations, in their equipments for asserting themselves, 
have consumed the products of industry, and mortgaged 
the future for money to cover extraordinary expenditures 
for the machinery of destruction, — expenditures amounting 
to more than the cost of armies, fleets, fortifications, and the 
ravages of campaigning, from Bunker Hill to Waterloo. 
The world is learning war more than ever; and the 
arbitrament of arms was never so costly as now. 

The Turks, Austrians, French, Chinese, Peruvians, and 
Mexicans lost territory in the wars of the later half of the 
century. The Turkish losses became small kingdoms ; the 
Austrians gaining two provinces and the Greeks one. The 
greater importance of the acquisition of Alsace and Lor- 
raine by the Germans, has been the unquenchable enmity 
of France ; and the symbol of it is the old statue of Marshal 
Ney in the park at Metz, musket in hand, as he faced the 
Russians on the retreat from Moscow. The statue of Stras- 
burg crowned with mourning wreaths, in the Place de la 
Concorde at Paris, has not such sinister significance as the 
defiant figure of Ney on German territory. At night, in the 
electric light that glows near the French field-marshal, he 
seems to listen and almost to speak. 



24 J^OJV WE GREW TO BE ONE OF THE GREAT POWERS. 

The greatest gain of land by the sword in modern times 
was that which we acquired from Mexico. We were par- 
ticularly fortunate in earlier and later days, in buying 
Louisiana from the French, and Alaska from the Russians, 

In the same period England and Russia have obtained 
vast landed possessions, Germany has unified German 
States, and the Italian peninsula has crystallized into one 
kingdom. 

Naturally the tendency of the times has been to the ex- 
pansion of sovereignties, partly for the same reason that 
there has been an unexampled growth of cities and aug- 
mentation of- popular demonstrations. These things result 
from the extension and perfection of railway systems ; from 
telegraphy and cheap papers ; from the manufacture of 
high-grade steel at low rates, permitting the erection of 
bridges and buildings otherwise impracticable ; and from 
the improvement of the condition of the hosts of labor. 
The victories in peaceful conventions, not less than those on 
the fields of combat, make for the aggrandizement of em- 
pires and the concentration of peoples. Our Confederates 
fought against the stars when they took up arms against 
that consolidation which we call nationality, and which, with 
guarantees of popular liberty in republicanism and democ- 
racy, has in it the enduring and dominating substance of 
imperialism, that overcomes and expands and constructs 
and goes on to greater destinies. It is the rule of the many, 
not of the few, that is the stronger government. It is not 
the Czars and Kaisers, the Sultans, the Emperor-Kings, 
and the Empress-Queens, who are to be magnified in the 
future by our higher civilization ; but the millions themselves 
shall be great, by reason of the conditions of equal oppor- 
tunity and the discipline of common and inviolable order. 

The world is no longer inaccessible and unknown to its 



WiV WE GkkW to BE ONE OF THE GREAT FOU^ERS. ii^ 

inhabitants. It is explored, measured, traversed, until there 
is instantaneous communication between the old mysteries 
of the atlas. Some of our States, in cost of time and move- 
ment, are farther away from our commercial and political 
capitals and the clusters of our manufacturing industries 
than are England and France ; but the States fronting the 
two great oceans are better acquainted with each other, 
and have a closer sense of companionship, than the counties 
of the older States — Virginia and New York, for example 
— had, before the steamboat, the railroad, the telegraph, and 
the telephone came to intensify the application of the an- 
cient and honored motto, '•' E p/urihus unumy If we are of 
New York, the nations of Europe are now more distinctly 
our neighbors than were the New-England States when the 
girl-queen, Victoria, was crowned. 

Whether or not it was the pro-slavery ambition that 
caused the war with Mexico and the magnificent country we 
appropriated, it was a wise and masterly stroke. Those who 
delivered it may have builded more wisely than they knew ; 
but no blame attaches to workmen who do that. The oppo- 
sition to the annexation of Texas was narrow, even if there 
was a little speculation in the Texas debt ; and when we 
accepted as a State Texas, the France of America, the 
Americanization of the people was justification. New Mex 
ico has not changed, and developed American characteris- 
tics so rapidly as we could desire ; but the example that, 
above all, vindicates the policy of annexation — not excepting 
Louisiana, Florida, or Texas — is California. We have 
nothing more priceless than the Golden Gate ; but some of 
our statesmen shuddered when we got it. 

There were many criticisms when William H. Seward and 
Charles Sumner accepted the friendly offer of Russia to sell 
us Alaska. If they had not improved the happy moment, 



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HOIV WE GRinV TO BE ONE OF THE i.'REAl I'OWEh'S. 27 

in Europe that may effect us more seriously than any 
other event abroad in the closing decade of the century. 
It is not improbable that the Emperor of Germany — the 
most restless and enterprising of modern monarchs — was 
the manager of that war ; that he prepared the theatre, 
and supplied the actors. He visited Vienna at a critical 
time in the relations of the Powers ; and then the Emperor 
of Austria made haste to visit the C/ar of Russia. From 
that time there was concert between the Kaiser, the Czar, 
the Sultan, and the Emperor-King of Austria and Hungary, 
— the masters of the armed nadons in which there is the 
least public opinion, indeed so little of it, that imperial 
affairs are decided without reference to the sentiments of 
the people. The Austrian sovereign does not assert him- 
self absolutely as the others do in their respective do- 
minions. But he has two Turkish provinces ; and, as he 
wanted more, he maintained the concert. The German 
Emperor has the greatest military machine the world has 
ever seen. Next to him in that respect is the Czar, — a 
young man in the iron grip of a system, with a million 
thoughtless bayonets. The Sultan has been rehabilitated. 
It is seen that he has an. immense army, and that there is 
no better fighting material in Europe than that which com- 
poses it. 

It is well worth while for us to consider that the combi- 
nation of emperors growing out of the Greco-Turkish war 
is the most formidable alliance of military Powers ever 
formed. There are four great armies in it, — the Turkish, 
with half a million men, being the smallest, — and three 
considerable navies. The Kaiser and the Czar are young 
in experience, and not limited within defined responsibili- 
ties. Germany is the leader, and has the colonizing 
passion. This country is the one that would naturally 



2S HOtV tVM GkElV TO BE ONE OF THE GREAT POWERS. 

be looked upon and watched with jealous eye as the next 
great nation to take up the idea of national expansion, 
owing to our great commercial enterprise. 

We may be sure there will be more friction than there 
has been between us and other nations, because each year 
brings us closer together. We can send orders for goods 
to Germany by cable, and have them landed here within 
ten days of the date of the message. One hundred of the 
ships of war reviewed at Portsmouth in the course of 
Queen Victoria's Jubilee could be off our coast in a fort- 
night. There is ready at Bermuda and Halifax an abund- 
ance of docks, stores, provisions, and ammunition, as well 
as all the machinery for handling and fitting out ships of 
war ; and away down in the Carribbean Sea the English 
have another vast station of like character. We should 
not count England as an enemy ; but she is our only rival 
on this continent. She holds more continental land and 
more islands in the American hemisphere than we do. 
She is prepared for war both in the Atlantic and the 
Pacific. 

The imperialism of England is to-day a considerable fact, 
and means more to us than to any other people except the 
English. We say English rather than British ; for the 
evolution is of England. Already the English colonies are 
in sharp competition with us in producing food for the 
metropolitan centres of congested civilization. Australians 
have broken the markets of New York more than once. 
A cablegram to Melbourne brings butter by the thousand 
tons from the other side of our planet, where the grass is 
green all the year. Australia is not as far away in time 
and charges as Europe was in the middle of the nineteenth 
century. The English invested a great deal of capital in 
Argentina, and seemed to have lost it ; but the railroads they 



iiOlV JVH GREW TO BE ONE OF 7 HE GREAT POWERS, ^g 

built and the ships they subsidized opened immense wheat- 
lands. Besides, the oceans are easy roads. 

We have rights as a humane Power, with faith in self- 
government, and a consciousness of manifest destiny, to 
do the things counting for freedom and peace and the ex- 
tension of our just influence in Cuba. Shall we take steps 
looking to retirement, or must we walk in the ways made 
familiar by those who established the zone of our national 
predominance across the continent, took Florida, and, touch- 
ing the tropical climate of the Southern Seas, moved north 
and west into the Arctic regions, so that from the eastern 
border of Maine to the western islands of the Aleutian 
group, we have in the summer days eighteen hours of sun- 
shine on the land covered by our flag? Shall we not go 
on where the honors and the glories await us as the Power 
that is competent, if we will, to speak for half the globe ? 
Once the Alleghenies were our western horizon; but we 
have crossed the space that divided the discoveries of Co- 
lumbus from the lands of his dreams, where the east and 
the west are blended, like sea and sky, in the boundless 
blue of the waters and the air. 

The objection is made that we neither hav<i nor can have, 
under our system of States, anything but States and Ter- 
ritories. We, the people of the United States, however, 
ordained a Constitution to establish "a more perfect 
Union " ; and that very Union was triumphant, through the 
conquest of States whose statesmen largely made the Union 
greater than the States. And the continuance of the policy 
of annexation only Invites us to be masterful in peace. 
We need to formulate a colonial system, and then the pre- 
cedents should be everlasting examples. Thomas Jef- 
ferson saw that If the Constitution was not equal to the 
occasion of the absorption of the Louisiana purchase, there 



JO IlOtV WE GREW TO BE ONE OF THE GREAT POWERS. 

was a higher and a more fundamental law, that of our In- 
heritance, written over the continent, in rivers and ranges 
of mountains, in plains and valleys, and that, therefore, the 
Constitution would have to be accommodating. No parch- 
ment can forbid the march of mankind. Our territorial 
system has served us well. It has yielded thirty-two States, 
each as sovereign and inviolable as the others ; and there 
is no primacy by reason of seniority. 

We ought to be armed as becomes a great Power ; not 
for military aggression, as our volunteers have always been 
and will prove to be sufficient for that. But, whether we 
include the American islands in the scope of our sover- 
eignty or not, we need to equip ourselves for international 
eventualities. 

We have become one of the great powers. The ruling 
nations will henceforth consult with us in decidingr the des- 
tiny of empires. We have entered the arena as one of the 
combatants, and must be reckoned with. Heretofore we 
had little concern how Africa, Asia, or Oceania were cut 
up. Our increased commerce, however, demands that we 
take an interest in the world at large and compete in every 
market. Already our trade extends to every corner of the 
globe. Our exports will soon exceed those of England and 
Germany, and it is our duty that we let the Stars and Stripes 
follow for the protection of American industry. 

To protect our enormous trade will demand of us a 
powerful navy, and it will be the policy of wisdom that we 
lose no time in establishing such. 

For it is the logic and lesson of current history that the 
greatest of wars are to come ; for the nations are spend- 
ing money, time, and toil in learning war, with an extrava- 
gance incessantly increasing as the later years of the century 
are numbered. 



CHAPTER II. 

OUR EARLY TERRITORIAL PROSPECTS. 

George Washington in his Boyhood Put Our Country in the Saddle — In Inter- 
national Matters Conservative, he was, in his Youth, the Foremost ol 
the Adventurers of the Gentlemen of his State Invading the Great 
West — He Knew More of That which is now the Heart of the Country 
than any other Man of his Generation, and More Wisely Appreciated 
the Value of the Ohio and the Mississippi Valleys — He was the Chosen 
Leader when but Twenty two Years of Age, of the First Band of Colo- 
nists who took the Field against the French Aggression in the Ohio 
Country. It was at his Personal Command that the First Guns were 
Fired and the First Blood Shed in the Great War for the Domination in 
North America Between England and France, terminating in the Pos- 
session, by the People of the United States, of the Soil they now Occupy — • 
He First Assisted the English to Put Out the French, and then the 
French Assisted Him in Putting Out the English. 

There is hardly to be found in the records of mankind 
an occasion more grateful and opportune to sweep away a 
work of historic injustice than that afforded in writing- a 
history of Our War with Spain and Our Territorial Ex- 
pansion, by declaring-, at the outset, the splendor of the 
youthful heroism and achievements of George Washing- 
ton in laying broader and deeper the foundations of the 
government by the people, of which he stands in the august 
and universally ascribed relation as the Father. For more 
than a century the name of Washington has been used by 
those who have been opposed to the expansion of our coun- 
try. No man ever had a more direct hand than himself in 
expanding it. He was too early to see beyond the Missis- 
sippi, for it had not then entered the imagination of man 
that this Republic was to be bounded only by the Atlantic 
and the Pacific Oceans, and the Great Lakes and the Great 

31 



p dVR MAkLY TEkktTdntAL PMosPEcTS. 

Gulf. So far-seeing, however, was Washington, that it is easy 
to conjecture that he must have had some gHmpses of the 
glory to come. His personal part, in extreme youth, as the 
representative of Virginia and the colonies associated with 
her in resisting the French system of grasping all the lands 
watered by the tributaries of the Mississippi, is most inter- 
esting, little understood, and rarely realized in its full pro- 
portions. 

About one hundred and fifty years ago the French, under 
the patronage of their King and court and army, were 
busily establishing themselves along the waters of the St. 
Lawrence and the Mississippi, and by several routes con- 
necting the enormous basins of the greater North Ameri- 
can rivers. They first crossed to the Lakes high up the 
Mississippi, and later discovered the advantages of the 
Ohio and the Wabash, which they thought would serve their 
purpose. Therefore they ascended the Ohio, and reach- 
ing the shores of Lake Erie, found their true line of com- 
munication between the imperial masses of their posses- 
sions along the Allegheny River, which was then regarded 
as the Ohio, the Monongahela, having consideration only as 
the most important branch of the "beautiful river." The 
Indian tribes were stirred up from forts of the French 
who fortified positions in close relations along Lake On- 
tario and Lake Erie, and advancing constructed an im- 
portant fortification in what is now Erie county. Pa. They 
also had another place at Venango, where the Allegheny 
received a considerable affluent, and at this stage of the pro- 
ceedings. Major Washington, a member of the staff of 
Governor Dinwiddle, was sent with a letter challenging 
the French commandant in the Ohio country, on the sub- 
ject of his aggressions upon the land belonging to the 
King of England. On the way Washington passed the 



OUR EARLY TERRITORIAL PROSPECTS. ^.l 

Forks of the Ohio, before there had been a stick cut on 
the site of the city of Pittsburg-, and when he returned one 
of the points of his report to the Governor was the ex- 
treme importance of that position. Governor Dinwiddie 
immediately began to organize to head off the French at 
that point, and Washington was the man selected to take 
command of the forces. There were great deficiencies, 
however, in the organization of the colonies, and when in 
the following- spring he set forth, it was with insufficient 
forces; and the French were ahead of him, as he had re- 
ported they probably would be, unless the utmost speed of 
enterprise was reached in taking armed possession of the 
land. There followed the familiar story of Fort Duquesne 
and Braddock's defeat ; but more interesting- is the fact 
that, with his little band, Washington moved resolutely into 
the wilderness, encountered the French, and regarding them 
as trespassers, ordered them fired upon, resulting in the death 
of a French officer, De Joinville. Thereupon Washington 
was forced to fortify himself, but was assailed by overwhelm- 
ing nurribers, and on the night before the fourth of July, 
1 753, he signed articles of capitulation as a prisoner of war. 
He it was who started the fight, and he it was who saw the 
French off, when the forces of England at last vindicated 
her reputation, the French abandoned the Forks of the 
Ohio, and the Indians sailed away in their canoes down the 
beautiful river, leaving the colonies north of the posts on 
the lower Mississippi to the English-speaking people for- 
ever. Thus it was, in the days of his youth, that George 
Washington put the American people in the saddle ; and 
the result was our national independence. 

We refer to the war that was opened between the 
French and the Virginians in 1754, as the Opening War of 
our Country. In a great historic sense it was so. The colo- 



34 



OUR EARLY TERRITORIAL PROSPECTS. 



nists had participated with the British in fighting the French 
and Indians at an earher period, but the affairs did not 
affect Continental relations. The colonists who took the 
field were not contending for dominion, only to maintain 
their frontiers, to beat the French and help the King of Eng- 
land ; but from 1754 they were in the war and fought for 
land to belong to themselves and their children and for 
Liberty. 

George Washington was, in 1751, appointed one of the 
four adjutant-generals of Virginia. Each was assigned to 
a military district of the colony, with the duty of organizing 
troops. The age of Washington was nineteen, his rank 
major, and he was attached to the staff of Governor Din- 
widdle, who, in October, 1753, commissioned him to find 
the commandant of the French forces on the Ohio, and 
deliver a letter to him demanding his retirement from the 
territories of the crown of Great Britain. Major Washing- 
ton, representing the Governor of Virginia and the King of 
England, set out from Williamsburg on the last day of the 
month, crossed the mountains, the headwaters of the Potomac 
and the Ohio, into the land where the rivers ran west and 
south. The French had invaded and were fortifying this 
country. The Virginian major bore the challenge of England 
to France, and was destined to begin in person, within eight 
months, the impending war. The prize contended for by 
the two most enlightened and powerful nations of the world 
was the valley of the Mississippi. It was the fortune of 
young Washington to be the foremost representative of the 
English race, in the irrepressible conflict for the richest 
regions of the North Temperate Zone. 

On the 14th of November he reached the house of Chris- 
topher Gist, on Will's Creek — the present site of the City 
of Cumberland. Christopher Gist was a frontier man of 



OUR EARLY TERRITORIAL PROSPECTS. 35 

intelligence and experience in the wilderness, and to him 
Washington delivered a letter from the Council of Virginia, 
requesting his attendance in the journey to the Post on the 
Ohio, where the French Commander-in-Chief could be 
located. 

In 1 743 there had been published in Paris " The History 
of New France," by Charlevoix, This work was reviewed 
in the "London Magazine," in 1747, under the head of 
"The French Settlements in North America."' The re- 
viewer declared that in wars with France " the conquest or 
destruction of the French settlements in America ought to 
be our principal view." It appeared from the French history 
and map that they, " by means of their settlements in 
Canada and on the River Mississippi, have entirely sur- 
rounded our settlements upon the continent of North 
America, and thereby absolutely cut us off from all commu- 
nication with the natives of that vast continent, except the 
few that inhabit the country eastward of the Mississippi and 
the lakes of Canada ; and from this history it appears that 
they have now opened a communication, mostly by water- 
carriage, from the mouth of the river St. Lawrence, to the 
mouth of the Mississippi, and have, in a manner, taken pos- 
session of every one of the great lakes in North America, 
which are the largest in the known world." 

The author of " New France" had made a voyage by the 
lakes and rivers from Quebec to New Orleans, and it ap- 
peared to the reviewer, " that the French were much more 
artful and diliofent than the English in making- settlements 
among, and in gaining the affections of the Indians ; " and 
that one of their favorite methods was to push forward their 
priests, who made themselves agreeable and useful to the 
savages, and prepared the way with missions for forts. 

The French strength, in their struggle for the greater 



36 OUR EARLY TERRITORIAL PROSPECTS 

and better part of the continent, was in their abiHty to cajole 
and employ the red men, and share with them the wilderness 
as a mysterious fortification. It was the English fashion at 
the time to complain of the superiority of the French as 
colonists. A letter from Virginia published in the " Lon- 
don Magazine" of 1747, declares: "With regard to the 
churchmen to be employed in America, the French infinitely 
excel us ; and even with regard to laymen, they are at more 
pains to find out such men as are proper for the business in 
which they are to be employed." 

The English and French were contesting the rich lands 
in North America a century and a half ago, as they are 
now assisting the expansive efforts of their colonists in 
Africa. To-day it is the vast regions between the Nile and 
the Niger and along their tributaries, instead of between 
the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi as in our ancient 
history. 

The surrounding of the English settlements by the French 
was what Englishmen most complained of, but their concern 
was rather for the good land of the future. The continent 
was not crowded with people. The population of the 
English colonies at this time was reported, partly by count, 
partly by estimate, at 1,428,000. The States north of the 
Potomac had 882,000 white inhabitants and 85,000 blacks; 
south of the Potomac, 283,000 whites and 178,000 blacks. 
The Canadian French numbered less than 12,000. In 1688 
the French census for North America showed only 1 1,249. 
They, possessing the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi, 
sought to connect those enormous continental channels by 
way of the Ohio and Lake Erie, and with the Indians on the 
great lakes and rivers, made wonderful voyages with canoes. 

M. du Quesne, Governor of Canada, early in 1753, 
detached M. Sieur de St. Pierre with a sufficient force to 




u 



I i 




OUR EARLY TERRITORIAL PROSPECTS. 39 

make a lodsfement and to maintain his Qrroiind on the 
River Boeuf, or Beef River, till re-enforced, which St. Pierre 
performed ; and he built a fort upon the spot in honor of 
M. du Ouesne." This fort was called " Le Boeuf" and 
was in Erie County, Pennsylvania, now Waterford, thir- 
teen miles from the town of Erie, near Le Boeuf Lake ; 
and the famous French Creek of the same name has its 
head near Lake Chautauqua. 

There had been received in the colonies from the " back 
settlements " information of the aggression of the French, 
in buildinor three forts on the Ohio. 

The Governor of Virginia wrote to the Governor of 
Pennsylvania, January 29, 1754, of "the return of the gent 
whom I sent by express to the French commandant, to 
know w^hat steps the French were taking on the Ohio ; " 
and the Governor added that he " wrote to the colonies to 
the northward of this for their aid and assistance " In the 
emergency, and at once made preparations to prevent the 
French from fortifying the fork of the Ohio, the real 
importance of which was first made known by Major 
Washington in recording the result of his expedition. 

The letter the youthful Major bore to the French com- 
mandant was dated Williamsburg, October 31, 1753, and 
was a very explicit document, saying : " The lands upon the 
River Ohio, in the western part of the Colony of Virginia, 
are so notoriously known to be the property of the Crown of 
Great Britain, that it is a matter of equal concern and sur- 
prise to me, to hear that a body of French forces are erect- 
ing fortresses, and making settlements upon that river 
within His Majesty's Dominions." 

Major Washington's report of his first journey to the 
Ohio country. Is a document remarkable for the literary 
faculty it declares, and no one can read it without a sense 
3 



40 OUR EARLY TERRITORIAL PROSPECTS. 

of the manliness and modesty of " the gent, sent" by Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddie. Such was the interest in Major Washing- 
ton's report that he was allowed but one day after his return 
to Williamsburg and the time for the Council's meeting, to 
" prepare and transcribe from the rough minutes " taken 
in his travels, the whole paper, and he apologized for ina- 
bility to correct the "diction." He did an extraordinarily 
good day's work as a reporter ; and did not know his 
report would be published, until it had been printed. 
He concluded his exemplary explanation of his hasty 
work, saying the only thing that could commend it to 
the public was: "Those things which came under the 
notice of my own observation, I have been explicit and just 
in a recital of. Those which I have gathered from report, 
I have been particularly cautious not to augment, but col- 
lected the opinions of the several intelligencers, and selected 
from the whole the most probable and consistent account." 
There is in this a striking suggestion of the style of preci- 
sion, of the one man named with Washington as his rival in 
reputation — Abraham Lincoln. 

The journey of Major Washington, of which this record 
was made, began October 31, 1753. He arrived at Fred- 
ericksburg next day, and at Cumberland two weeks out. 

Excessive rain and vast quandties of snow caused delays, 
preventing their arrival at the place of Mr. Frazier, an 
Indian trader, at the mouth of Turtle Creek, on the Monon- 
gahela, and it was proposed to cross the Ohio (the Alle- 
gheny) at the fork. Here, in the original London pamphlet, 
a note says, "The Ohio and the Allegheny are the same 
river." The loan of a canoe to reach " the fork " was 
obtained, but Washington spent some time on the way, in 
the saddle, closely examining the rivers passing over the 
scene of the defeat of Braddock in 1755 — a year and a half 



OUR EARLY TERRITORIAL PROSPECTS. 41 

later — and he studied with the eye of a surveyor and miH- 
tary man by nature, the " Land in the Fork," of which he 
said : " I think it extremely well situated for a fort, as it has 
the absolute command of both rivers." 

A race soon took place between the French and the 
English to occupy and fortify the fork of the Ohio — the 
English got the start, but were driven out, and the French 
enjoyed a brief triumphal occupation. It was Major Wash- 
ington who, when the land in the fork was wholly unoccu- 
pied, saw its advantages and urged it as above all others, 
the spot to fortify. 

No newspaper correspondent ever did more faithful 
work than George Washington did in reporting in his tent. 
November 25th, in the afternoon between three o'clock and 
dark, fifteen miles from the fork of the grreat river the 
French called the " Fair," and the group consisted of 
Washington, his interpreter Davidson, and the " Half 
Kina." 

There is the flavor of the individuals and races of the 
red men and the Frenchmen, in the speeches reported. 
We have the dignity of the Indian Chief, the vivacity of the 
French officer ; the aggression, the defiance, all this duly 
noted, and there is intelligence, particularly acceptable to 
military men. The Major also jotted down his conversa- 
tion with the " Half King " the matter concerned him thus : 

" He informed me that they, the French, had built two 
forts — one on Lake Erie and another on French Creek, 
near a small lake about fifteen miles yonder, and a large 
wagon road between ; they are both built after the same 
model, but different in size, that on the lake the largest. 
He gave me a plan of them, of his own drawing." 

The " Half King " desired to hold the country against the 
whites. He had already told the English of his intention, 



42 OUR EARLY TERRITORIAL PROSPECTS. 

and claimed that " the Great Being above allowed the land 
to be a place of residence for the Indians. Our brethren, 
the English, have heard this, and I come now to tell it to 
you, for I am not afraid to discharge you off this land." 

The reply on behalf of France was severe. " My child," 
said the Frenchman, " you need not put yourself to the 
trouble of speaking, for I will not hear you," and " I am not 
afraid of flies, or mosquitoes, for Indians are such as those. 
I tell you, down the river I will go, and will build upon it 
according to my command. If the river is blocked up, I 
have forces sufficient to burst it open, and tread under my 
feet all who stand in opposition, together with their alliances ; 
for my force is as the sand upon the seashore. Therefore, 
here is your wampum. I fling it at you. Child, you talk 
foolish ; you say this land belongs to you, but there is not 
the black of my nails of it yours." 

When Washington waited upon the commander, a knight 
of the military order of St. Louis, Legardeur de St. Pierre, 
an elderly gentleman, with much the air of a soldier, 
and who had commanded the fort only a week. The arrival 
of a Captain Reparti, " who understood a little English," 
was daily awaited, and Governor Dinwiddle's letter was 
read. Washington was asked to walk in with his inter- 
pre'ter to hear and correct the construction of the Gover- 
nor's paper. The French held a council of war after mas- 
tering the Governor's letter, and while this was going on, 
the ever-watchful Major was studying the fort, " taking the 
dimensions," and " makino^ what observations I could." The 
fort was on the south or west bank of French Creek, and 
nearly surrounded by it. There were eight six-pound can- 
non in each bastion, and one piece of four-pound before the 
gate, and " there are several barracks without the fort for 
the soldiers' dwelling ; covered some with bark, and some 



OUR EARLY TERRITORIAL PROSPECTS. 



43 



with boards, made chiefly with logs. There are also several 
other houses, such as stables, smiths' shops, etc." 

The indefatigable nature of the Major's labors is seen in 
the pains he took to find how many men there were in the 
garrison, and he made them about one hundred, exclusive 
of the officers, "of whom there are many." The canoes 
were counted, and there were fifty of birch bark, and one 
hundred and seventy of pine, and "many others blocked 
out." This told the strength of the expedition to descend 
the river in the spring. The canoes were numbered by 
Washington's people acting under his orders, and the 
capacity and purpose of the canoe fleet were verified the 
next spring. 

The most specific statement Washington could gain of 
the strength of the French invading the Ohio country 
was that they had been 1,500 strong, but had been recalled, 
except the garrisons of four forts, about 150 to each, and 
he reported : 

" The first of these is at French Creek near a small lake, 
about sixty miles from Venango, near N. N. W. ; the next 
lies on Lake Erie where the greater part of their stores is 
kept, about fifteen miles from the other. From this it is 
1 20 miles to the carrying place, at the falls of Lake Erie, 
where there is a small fort which they lodge their goods at, 
in bringing them from Montreal, the place from whence all 
their stores come. The next fort lies about twenty miles 
from this on Ontario Lake." 

The trip from the fort on Lake Erie to Montreal, the 
French of^cers said, could be made in four weeks by large 
boats, and six weeks by canoes. The larger boats were 
used to cross Lake Erie, and their existence shows the skill 
and energy of the French in navigation. 

The reply of the French commander to the communica- 



44 OUR EARLY TERRITORIAL PROSPECTS. 

tion from Governor DInwiddie was received on the evening 
of the i6th, and next day the journal says, '' the comman- 
dant ordered a plentiful store of liquor, provisions, etc., to 
be put on board our canoe, and appeared to be extremely 
complaisant, though he was exerting every artifice he could 
invent to set our Indians at variance with us, to prevent 
their going till after our departure. Presents, rewards, 
and everything which could be suggested by him or his 
fellow-officers — I can't say that ever in my life I suffered so 
much anxiety as I did in this affair, I saw that every strat- 
agem which the most fruitful brain could invent was prac- 
ticed to win the ' Half King ' to their interest, and that 
leaving him here was giving them the opportunity they 
aimed at." 

Washington was long detained by drunken Indians and 
his return was through terrible hardships. There was an 
attempt to assassinate him, and he was flung from a raft 
into the Allegheny when the river was flooded and loaded 
with ice. 

The Major was "in an Indian walking dress" — a "hunt- 
ing shirt" and leggings — and continued with the party for 
three days — but had to hasten lorward " the nearest way 
through the woods on foot." It was a dreary time. The 
cold " increased " very fast ; the woods were becoming 
much worse with a deep snow, continually freezing. This 
was Christmas Day. The simplicity of the journal is very 
striking, and it is the more to be regarded, for it is one of 
the rare occasions in which Washington spoke of himself. 
He says : " I took my necessary papers ; pulled off my 
clothes, and tied myself up in a watch coat. Then with gun 
in hand and pack at back, in which were my papers and 
provisions, I set out with Dr. Gist, fitted in the same 
manner." 



OUR EARLY TERRITORIAL PROSPECTS. 



45 



Major Washington was for a time utterly alone, in a 
forest where his life had been attempted. He was dressed 
almost like an Indian, carrying pack and gun, resolutely 
walking all night and then all day, though footsore and ex- 
ceedingly fatigued, finding his way in the pathless and 
frozen woods by the compass, discovering a trail of pro- 
bably hostile Indians — parting with his one companion that 
they might evade their enemies if pursued, meeting again 
and keeping up their desperate pace, until they came to a 
place where they thought they were safe enough to sleep, 
and encamped. They were not disturbed through the long 
night and " set out early." 

On the first of January, 1 754, two months after setting out 
from Williamsburg, Washington says: "Tuesday, January 
I, we left Mr. Frazier's house, and arrived at Mr. Gist's, at 
Monongahela, the 2d, where I bought a horse, saddle, etc. 
The 6th we met seventeen horses loaded with materials 
and stores for a fort at the forks of the Ohio, and the day 
after, some families going out to settle." They were the 
advance guard of an ill-fated expedition. This day Will's 
Creek (Cumberland on the Potomac) was reached, and on 
the nth Belvoir, the seat of the Fairfax family, where there 
occurs this line in the journal : " I stopped one day to take 
necessary rest." 

The arrival at Williamsburg was on the i6th, and Major 
Washington " waited upon His Honor the Governor, with 
the letter I had brought from the French commandant ; 
and to give an account of the success of my proceedings." 
The report was at once written up and submitted, and hop- 
ing the Governor was satisfied with his conduct, the Major 
subscribed himself " With infinite pleasure, George Wash- 
ington," and in the phrase "Infinite pleasure" is the only 
touch of the extravagance of youth in the wonderfully clear 



46 OUR EARLY TERRITORIAL PROSPECTS 

and forcible account of a journey that was of extreme 
hardship and various imminent dangers, of great pubhc 
utihty, and finally of international influence. ' 

The Governor, after reading the French commandant's 
letter, at once began preparing for a military expedition, in 
the spring, to capture the fork of the Ohio. It was the eye 
of Washington that had found tiie commanding military 
and commercial importance of the site of Pittsburg. 

The journal of his first Western travel is by far the most 
important of Washington's early writings. It is crowded 
with business intelligence, not a point missed, and is the 
indubitable evidence of the uncommon manner in which, 
through the most trying experiences, he won in his youth an 
exceptional and glorious reputation, spreading his name 
through the colonies as one in whom absolute confidence 
could be reposed, becoming, through devoted bravery and 
good conduct, the most distinguished and promising young 
man in Virginia. Under the hardest tests, his extraordinary 
excellence was thus early made manifest. No men could 
have been better qualified than the Virginians of that day 
to understand his admirable merit, his courage indomitable, 
and judgment unfailing; and he had by his fearless and in- 
telligent devotion, deeply impressed the leading men of the 
commonwealth, and took his place then and forever as a 
leader and a hero. 

His keen eyes had searched, and his hand recorded the 
secrets of the enemies of Virginia and England. His 
sagacity guided him through the most desperate hazards, 
followed, without faltering, the line of duty, and had saved 
his life for the coming time. His return to the seat of 
government of the colony, having placed him by the sur- 
prisingly thorough accomplishment of his mission, among 
the first citizens who had served the State, was a month 



OUR EARLY TERRITORIAL PROSPECTS. 47 

before his twenty-second birthday. The letter he bore to 
the Governor of Virginia was in stately form and high spirit 
justifying the description Washington gives of the soldierly 
bearing of the writer, who clearly had an adequate sense 
of the importance of his position — that of commanding the 
advanced guard of his nation — in asserting authority over 
the richest land of the continent ; and the paper was one 
which it was fitting should be in charge of the messeno-er, 
whose fortune it was to be first to inform the English and 
their colonies, from personal observation, of the exact state 
of French aggression, pushing to completion their chain of 
fortresses, to draw a boundary that British enterprise could 
never pass on the ridges of the Alleghenies. 

The prize for the victor was the possession of a region 
exceeding Europe in resources, and it was Major Wash- 
ington who led, in the year following, the first military 
expedition against the centre of the French line, extending 
from Quebec to New Orleans ; and under the orders of 
this young gendeman, the first blood was shed in the war 
that, after many vicissitudes, ended the ambidous scheme 
of French dominion, and confirmed to Virginia her imperial 
territory, yet leaving Louisiana with a more magnificent 
inheritance even than that Virginia held and gave away. 

Napoleon, the master of France, sold this truly imperial 
possession to the country of Washington, because the 
French were unequal to the defence of New Orleans 
against the sea power of the English. The task and 
triumph won the empire beyond the Mississippi, and the 
defence of Louisiana against Great Britain was transmitted 
to another generation and race, and accomplished by 
another hero, Andrew Jackson. 

The French commandant at Fort Le Boeuf comes down 
to us a not unple.asing personage — a knightly figure, court- 



48 OUR EARLY TERRITORIAL PROSPECTS. 

cous and haughty, and his romantic name will be known 
through the centuries, because he met in his wooden fort, 
in a wintry wilderness, on a little river, alternately flooded 
and frozen, the young Virginian, whom he received with a 
distinction suitable, as he said, to the dignity of the Gover- 
nor of Virginia and the " quality and great merit " of the 
young man himself. 

It would have seemed a fantastic dream to the old officer, 
exiled in duty so far from Paris, and from all it seemed 
possible could become memorable, if he had beheld in a 
vision that immortality had been conferred upon him, not 
by his King, or any honors France could bestow, or glory 
he should crain in toilsome services, but throueh the 
presence of an enemy's emissary whose appointed destiny 
it was to lead the advanced guard of the colonists in finally 
conquering for the English race " the fair River Ohio." and 
the fruitful lands it watered. 

Still more strange it would have seemed, to have revealed 
in the mist of fancy a glimpse of the fated field on the 
Monongahela, where George Washington was the hero of 
the fight, relieving, by his valor, the gloom of a day of dis- 
aster ; and how impossible it would have been to imagine 
that after the French lost the key to the country, and 
floated in their bargfes discomfited down the river whose 
beauty they had celebrated, that glittering regiments from 
France should, in alliance with the picturesque Continentals, 
under George Washingrton, march from the Hudson to the 
capes of Virginia, to force the surrender of his Britannic 
Majesty's army at Yorktown, — the war that deprived Eng- 
land of her original American colonies, and the greatest of 
her conquests from the French — the Mississippi Valley. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE FRENCH AS OUR ALLIES IN THE REVOLUTION, 

The French as Our Allies Beat the British at the Capes of Virginia, and were 
Beaten on the way to Attack Jamaica — The French Gift of Money to 
our Fathers —The French from Dobb's Ferry to Yorktown — The Count 
De Grasse who Beat the British at the Capes of Virginia was Beaten and 
Captured by Admiral Lord Rodney, April 8, 1781. 

Our fathers were seeing very hard times when the French 
concluded to help us, thinking they ought to regain their 
North American Colonies which they had lost when we as- 
sisted the British. Washington had helped drive the French 
down the Ohio, and now they were rendering Washington 
assistance to drive the British from the South Atlantic slope. 
Worst of all, our Revolutionary sires needed money, and 
Franklin wn*ote to the Count de Vergennes, asking a loan 
of 25,000,000 francs. He made a personal appeal, and 
added, " I am grown old and feel myself much enfeebled by 
my late long illness, and it is probable I shall not long have 
any more concern in these affairs. I therefore take this 
occasion to express my opinion to your Excellency, that the 
present conjuncture is critical ; that there is some danger 
lest the Congress should lose its influence over the people, 
if it is found unable to procure the aids that are wanted, 
and that the whole system of the new government in 
America may thereby be shaken ; that, if the English are 
suffered once to recover that country, such an opportunity 
of effectual separation as the present may not occur again 
in the course of ages ; and that the possession of those 
fertile and extensive regions, and that vast seacoast, will 

49 



50 THE FRENCH AS OUR ALLIES. 

afford them so broad a basis for future greatness, by rapid 
growth of their commerce, and the breed of seamen and 
soldiers, as will enable them to become the terror of Eicr ope, 
and to exercise with impunity that insolence which is so 
natural to their nation, and which will increase enormously 
with the increase of their power." 

Wliile Franklin waited. Col. John Laurens was commis- 
sioned by Congress to promote the loan desired, and Frank- 
lin again became urgent, and the Count de Vergennes sent 
for him at length. " He assured me," Franklin wrote, " of 
the kinor's aood will to the United States ; remarking-, how- 
ever, that, being on the spot, I must be sensible of the great 
expense France was actually engaged in, and the difficulty 
of providing for it, which rendered the lending us twenty-five 
millions at present impracticable. But that to give the 
States a signal proof of his friendship, his Majesty had re- 
solved to grant them the sum of six millions, not as a loan, 
but as a free gift. This sum, the minister informed me, 
was exclusive of the three millions which he had before 
obtained for me, to pay the Congress drafts for interest, 
expected in the current year. He added, that, as it was 
understood, the clothing w'lth which our army had been 
heretofore supplied from France, was often of bad quality, 
and dear, the ministers w'ould themselves take care of the 
purchase of such articles as should be immediately wanted, 
and send them over; and it was desired of me to look over 
the great invoice that had been sent hither last year, and 
mark out those articles." 

This gift gave the revolted colonies a credit, and as Parton 
says contributed essentially to the success of the campaign 
which ended in the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at York- 
town. The sum total of money obtained from France at 
the solicitation of Frankha was twenty-six millions of francs; 



THE FRENCH AS OUR ALLIES. -j 

in 1777 two millions; in 1778, three millions; in 1779, one 
million; in 1780, four millions; in 1781, ten millions; in 
1782, six millions. These aids were given at a time when 
France herself was at war, and while the minister of finance, 
M, Necker, constantly opposed the grants. 

On the 6th of July, 1781, General Rochambeau, with his 
army, formed a junction with General Washington, near 
" Dobbs' Ferry," on the Hudson. The Americans en- 
camped in two lines, with their right resting on that river. 
The French occupied the left, in a single line extending to 
the river Bronx. The united forces meditated an attack 
upon New York and were for six weeks uncertain when to 
strike. General Rochambeau had corresponded with Count 
de Grasse in reference to operating upon the southern 
coast, presenting "a picture of the distresses of the south- 
ern States, and, above all, of Virginia, which had nothing to 
oppose the inroads of Lord Cornwallis, but a small body 
of troops under Lafayette." While hesitating to make the 
general attack above mentioned, there was received at 
Newport, from Count de Grasse, a letter, stating that he 
should soon sail from St. Dommgo with his entire fleet, 
having on board three thousand two hundred land troops, 
to be employed in the Chesapeake. This letter was for- 
warded to General Washington. The time that the Count 
had prescribed for this operation was between the middle 
of Auo-ust and the middle of October. Such intelligence 
led at once to a change in the plan of operation. Further 
immediate attempt upon New York was abandoned, and 
the two generals decided upon a campaign in Virginia, to 
act against Cornwallis. Yorktown, therefore, became the 
second objective point. 

On the 3 1 St day of August, Count de Grasse arrived in the 
Chesapeake with a squadron of twenty-eight ships of the line, 



52 



THE FRENCH AS OUR ALLIES. 



and six frigates, having on board three thousand three hun- 
dred land troops, commanded by the Marquis de Saint Simon. 
With the aid of boats, manned by fifteen hundred sailors 
from the squadron of De Grasse, they were landed at James- 
town on the 2d of September. On the 5th, Admiral Graves 
appeared off Chesapeake Bay. The Count de Grasse im- 
mediately cut his cables, went out to meet him, gave battle 
and gained a victory, presaging a greater soon to be ob- 
tained.* In this engagement the British ship " Terrible " 
was severely damaged, and, unable to be kept afloat, was 
set on fire and destroyed. 

The French fleet lost in this affair the Sieurs de Boacles, 
captain of a man-of-war, commanding the " Reflechi," Dape 
d'Orvault, lieutenant of a man-of-war, and major of the blue 
squadron; Rhaab, ensign of a man-of-war, a Swede, on 
the " Caton ; " de la Villeon, an auxiliary officer on the 
"Diademe"; eighteen officers were wounded, and about two 
hundred men killed and wounded. Washington called on 
the victorious De Grasse, and on the American chief's 
reaching the quarter deck, the admiral flew to embrace him, 
imprinting the French salute upon each cheek. Hugging 
him in his arms, he exclaimed, '' My dear little General!'' 
De Grasse was of lofty stature; but the term petit or small, 
when applied to the majestic and commanding person of 
Washington, produced an effect upon the risible qualities 
of all present not to be described. The Frenchmen, gov- 
erned by the rigid etiquette of the ancient regime, controlled 
their mirth as best they could ; but our own jolly Knox, 
regardless of all rules, laughed, and that aloud, till his fat 
sides shook aofain.* 

The fleet of Count de Grasse comprised the following 
vessels : 

* Custis's Recollections, p. 236. 



THE FRENCH AS OUR ALLIES. 



53 



VESSELS. NO. GUNS. 

Ville de Paris 104 

Auguste 8o 

Languedoc 80 

Sceptre 80 

Saint Esprit 80 

Cesar 74 

Destin 74 

Victoire 74 

Northumberland ... 74 

Palmier 74 

Pluton 74 

Marseillais 74 

Bourgogne 74 

Reflechi 74 

Diademe 74 

Caton 74 

Citoyen 74 

Scipion 74 

Magnanime 74 

Herciile 74 

Zele 74 

Hector 74 

Souverain 74 

Glorieux 74 

Vaillant 70 

Solitaire 64 

Triton 64 

Experiment 50 



CAPTAINS. 

De Grasse, Lieutenant-General. 
De Vaugirault, Major de I'Armee, 

f De Bougainville, Chef d'Escadre. 

i Castellan. 

f De Monteil, Chef d'Escadre. 

I Duplessis Parscau. 
. De Vaudreuil. 
. De Chabert. 
. Coriolis d'Espinouse. 
. Dumaitz de Goimpy. 
. D'Albert Saint-Hyppolite. 
. De Briqueville. 
. D'Arros d'Argelos. 
. D'Albert de Rions. 
. De Castellane de Masjastre. 
. De Charitte 
. Cillart de Suville. 
. De Monteclerc. 
. De Framond. 
. D'Ethy. 
. De Clavel. 
. Le Begue. 
. De Turpin de Breuil. 
. De Gras Preville. 
. Renaud d'Aleins. 
. De Glanedeves. 
. D'Escars. 

. Chevalier Bernard de Marigny. 
. De Cice Champion. 
. Brun de Boades. 



The fleet of Admiral de Grasse numbered fourteen ves- 
sels, with a few exceptions the same that M. Destouches 
had commanded and turned over to him. 

The French fleet, with ability to beat off that of the British 
from the Chesapeake, was an essential factor in the capture 
of Cornwallis. At this time the question whether the British 
or French were the greater sea power was unsettled, and 
it was Rodney's famous victory over the Comte de Grasse 



54 



THE FRENCH AS OUR ALLIES. 



in the West Indies in April, 1781, that has been held by 
British writers to have "avenged Yorktown." 

Writing on his flagship "Formidable," April 14, 1781, 
Admiral Lord Rodney said : 

" It has pleased God, out of his Divine Providence, to grant his Majesty's 
arms a most complete victory over the fleet of his enemy, commanded by 
Comte de Grasse, who is himself captured, with the ' Ville de Paris' and four 
other ships of his fleet, besides one sunk in the action. 

" This important victory was obtained on the 12th instant, af'er a battle which 
lasted, with unremitting fury, from seven in the morning till half past six in the 
evening, when the setting sun put an end to the contest. 

"Both fleets have greatly suffered, but it is with the highest satisfaction I 
can assure their Lordships, that though the masts, sails, rigging and hulls of 
the British fleet are damaged, yet the loss of men has been but small, considering 
the length of the battle, and the close action they so long sustained." 

The British loss was, killed, 240 ; wounded, 797. It had 
seemed to be the French Admiral's intention to reach the 
harbor of Cape Fran9ois without hazarding an action with 
a superior fleet. For this purpose, after leaving Martin- 
ique he kept to windward, steering close to the island of 
Dominique ; and it appeared that he intended to continue 
his course near the islands, keeping his convoy between 
the ships and the shore. He might be encouraged to hope 
that he would be successful in avoiding an action, as he had 
on a former occasion completed the conquest of Tobago, 
notwithstanding the presence of the British naval force, and 
as he well knew the difficulty of bringing on a battle with a 
great fleet, inclined to avoid it. 

But the prospect of advantage which presented itself to 
the French Admiral on the 9th was the occasion of his defeat 
on the 1 2th. It was the apparent opportunity of disabling 
the van of the British fleet, whilst the centre and rear were 
becalmed, which the Comte de Grasse had not sufficient 
prudence to resist, and this fixed his fate and that of the 
expedition. 




PRESIDENT Mckinley preparing his message to congress. 



THE FRENCH AS OUR ALLIES. ^y 

The French flagship, the " Ville de Paris," had on board 
a great quantity of specie, and was considered the finest 
ship afloat. She was presented by the city of Paris to Louis 
XV. at the close of the preceding war, and no pains or ex- 
pense had been spared upon her; she measured 2,300 tons. 
It is said that she cost, in buildinof and fittincr her for sea, 
no less than ^156,000. The " Caesar " was also a very fine 
ship, but was burnt on the night after her capture, by which 
accident 400 of her crew, as well as a lieutenant and 50 
British seamen, perished. It is singular that not one of the 
French ships captured on this day ever reached England, the 
"Ville de Paris," "Hector" and " Glorieux " foundering 
on their passage home. 

Unaccustomed as England had been to a decisive victory, 
this affair caused unbounded satisfaction, and Sir George 
Rodney and Sir Samuel Hood w^ere both elevated to the 
peerage, and Rear-Admiral Drake and Commodore Affleck 
created baronets. Public monuments in Westminster Abbey 
were also ordered to be erected to the mem.ory of the three 
captains who fell in the action. 

The circumstances of the battle were most interesting: : 

" On the morning of the 8th of April a signal was made through a chain of 
frigates stationed between St. Lucie and Martinique, that the enemy's fleet had 
unmoored and were proceeding to sea. Upon this the British fleet, at that 
moment in complete readiness, took up their anchors, and in little more than 
two hours were all under weigh, standing towards the enemy with all the sail 
they could crowd. It was the decided policy of the French commander not on 
any account to hazard a battle, the sole object of the expedition being that of 
joining a large sea and land force of the Spaniards then waiting at Cape Fran- 
cois in order to proceed against Jamaica with their joint armament, amounting 
to the overwhelming force of near fifty ships of the line, and twenty thousand 
land troops." 

When the account of the preliminaries of peace arrived 
in the West Indies, the Marquis de Bouille, the Governor 
of Martinique, heretofore our determined enemy, and whose 

4 



g THE FRENCH AS OUR ALLIES. 

name is so well known in the history of the French revolu- 
tion, dined with Admiral Pigot one day in Gros Islet Bay, 
and in the frankness of conversation told us what their 
plan was had the war continued. The whole naval force of 
our allied enemies were to have rendezvoused in Constant 
Bay, Tobago, to the amount of fifty or sixty sail of the line, 
and a proportionate, land force, sufficient for a sweeping 
conquest of the whole of our sugar colonies, from Barba- 
does to Jamaica. So confident were the Spaniards of their 
success in this expedition, that Don Galvez, the officer who 
was to command it, before he sailed from the " Havana," 
was addressed in council as Governor of Jamaica. 

The French made an effort to keep out of the way, for 
they were on a great enterprise, but the wind did not favor 
them, and the final movement of Rodney was much like 
that a quarter of a century back, of Nelson at Trafalgar. 
The comparative force of the fleet was thus figured out : 

"The sum tf)tal of the weight of a broadside of the French fleet exceeded 
that of the British fleet by four thousand three hundred and ninety-six pounds; 
and although the number of our guns exceeded that of theirs by one hundred 
and fifty-six, their lower-deck batteries, in ships of seventy-four guns and 
upwards, consist of thirty-six pounders, which, according to the difference of 
the pound of the two nations, are equal to our forty-two pounders, and gave 
the enemy the above-mentioned preponderance of metal on the whole amount. 
The difference in the number of men was still more considerable ; for besides 
that the French have a much greater complement of men to the same tonnage, 
they had the assistance of a large body of land forces. 

" After the surrender of the ' Ville de Paris ' the Admiral sent Lord Cranstoun, 
one of the captains of the ' Formidable,' on board of that ship to beg the Comte 
dc ("irasse to remain there at his ease if he chose. He came voluntarily on 
board the ' Formidable ' next morning and remained there for two days, during 
which time I had a great deal of conversation with him and his officers. 

" He bears his reverse of fortune with equanimity, conscious, as he says, that 
he has done his duty, and I found him very affable and communicative. 1 told 
him that the people of England had begun to despair of the safety of Jamaica, 
fearing that he was to complete his career of success by taking it. He said 
that he would have done so had his court kept their word by sending him twelve 
ships of the line in November, as they promised. 



THE FRENCH AS OUR ALLIES. -g 

" The fate of the ' Caesar,' one of the French ships captured, has been truly 
pitiable. The night of the action, soon after dark, she took fire by an English 
marine carrying a candle below in search of liquor, and a cask of spirits catching 
fire, the flames spread so fast that they could not be extinguished. After burn- 
ing for some time till the fire reached tiie powder magazine, the ship blew up — 
the second horrid spectacle of this kind to which 1 have been witness, having 
also seen the explosion of the ' St. Domingo,' a Spanish ship of the line, in the 
action ofif Cape St. Vincent, two years before. The French captain, who had 
been severely wounded, the English officer who boarded her, together with 
the greater part of the men on board, both British and French, perished. Some 
saved themselves before the explosion ; others, who survived it, and clung to 
parts of the wreck, were most of them either overwhelmed in the waves, or 
miserably scorched with the flames ; and those who attempted to save them 
relate, that they saw a spectacle too horrible to describe — the men who clung 
to the wreck torn off by the voracious sharks which always swarm in these seas 
after an engagement, and were not yet glutted with the carnage of the preceding 
day." 

In one of Admiral Lord Rodney's letters he says : 

" Comte de Grasse, who is at this moment sitting in my stern gallery, tells me 
that he thought his fleet superior to mine, and does so still, though I had two 
more in number; and 1 am of his opinion, as his was composed all of large 
ships, and ten of mine only sixty-fours. 

•' I am of opinion that the French will not face us again this war, for the 
ships which have escaped are so shattered and their loss of men so great, that 
I am sure they will not be able to repair or replace either in the West Indies. 
Had it not been for this fortunate event, Jamaica had been gone. 

" The unwelcome news of the defeat of De Grasse was received by the French 
king with great firmness and magnanimity. Assembling his council, ' We must 
not suffer ourselves,' said the monarch, *to be cast down by this first reverse. 
We ought, on the contrary, to redouble our zeal, and repair the consequences 
of it. Monsieur de Castries, give orders for the speedy construction of twelve 
more ships. I shall take care that the brave men who fell in the battle shall be 
replaced. I do not intend, however, that the surplus of the expense of this 
augmentation shall fall upon my people ; I will sooner pledge my jewels to 
supply it. Let them go to work immediately in the dockyards; I will take care 
that money shall not be wanting. My enemies are mistaken if they rely on 
this success to rise in their demands. Monsieur de Vergennes, you know that 
I will make no alteration in the conditions on which I have resolved to establish 
peace. I will have the honor of my arms repaired.' " 

But he had lost the great game played for, the mastery 
of the sea. 



CHAPTER IV. 

OUR FIRST APPEARANCE AS A SEA POWER, 

The Ranger, Eighteen Guns, was the First American Vessel to Sail Under the 
Stars and Stripes— "Old Glory "First Saluted by a French Admiral in 
,778— The First Battle Fought Under the American Flag at Sea— The 
Capture of the Drake — Paul Jones' Attack on Whitehaven — The 
Attempt to Capture the Earl of Selkirk— The Fight of the Bon Homme 
Richard and the 6Vra//.f— Sketch of the Life of Paul Jones— His Service 
in the Russian Navy, and His Death in Paris. 

The first United States man-of-war flying the flag of 
thirteen stripes and thirteen stars was the eighteen-gun 
ship Ranger, under command of Captain John Paul Jones. 
The flag was hoisted by him on June 14, 1777, the date of 
Congress' resolution adopting the present national emblem, 
and the first nation to salute " Old Glory " was France, 
when an Admiral in the French Navy returned the salute 
from the Ranger in Quiberon Bay. The amount of dam- 
age done by the Ranger in destroying British shipping, in 
attacking not only her vessels, but making assaults upon 
the English coast, was tremendous. 

The Ranger 5 first battle of any consequence was with 
the Drake. This occurred on, April 24, 1778, off the coast 
of Ireland. The two ships were so close together that the 
commands on either vessel were audible to the other. 
Captain Jones opened the engagement with a broadside, 
which was instantly replied to by the enemy. 

In an account of this battle, by John R. Spears, the fol- 
lowing is given : 

*' After a litde, the four topsail yards of the Drake were 
cut in two at the masts, and hung useless. The mizzen- 
60 



OUR FIRST APPEARANCE AS A SEA POWER. 6i 

gaff was shot away, and dropped. The rigging- and sails 
were in tatters, worse yet, blood was trickling from her 
scuppers because of the dead and wounded on her deck. 
Her commander, Captain Burdon, was killed by a musket 
ball through his brain. Among- the wounded was the 
first lieutenant, who was mortally hurt. The flag first spread 
on the Drake was shot away, but they raised another. This, 
too, was shot away, and, falling overboard, it dragged in the 
water. A little later, and just as the sun was going down 
behind the Irish hills, the cry for quarter was raised on the 
Drake, and the battle came to an end. 

The Ranger in this fight had eighteen guns, the Drake 
carried twenty. The Ranger s crew numbered one hun- 
dred and twenty-three, the Drake had one hundred and 
fifty-one on her books, and, in addition to these, had taken 
on a number of volunteers from the shore, who had been 
anxious to help whip the Yankees. These raised the num- 
ber of her crew to one hundred and sixty by the lowest ac- 
count, and one hundred and ninety by the highest. The 
Ranger lost two killed, including Lieutenant Wallingsford, 
and six wounded. The Drake lost forty-two killed and 
wounded. The odds had been against him, but the honors 
remained with John Paul Jones. 

There has been a romantic splendor always in the name 
of John Paul Jones. There is not a school boy in America 
who does not hold him as one of the few first favorites 
among our heroes, and all can tell as a familiar story his 
tremendous batde with the old and shattered French ship 
under him, against the solid, hard-fighting Englishman ; 
how there was fire and water in contention for the mastery 
and no surrender on either side until the last call had been 
made for the utmost endurance. How Paul Jones hurled 
his pistol at the head of the panicky subordinate who ran 



62 Or/C FIRST APPEARANCE AS A SEA POWER. 

to Strike the fla.s^, and the indomitable captain, after the 
marvelously protracted combat, was asked, as his standard 
was shot away, whether he surrendered, and answered that 
he was only beginning to fight, and came out conqueror. 
It is remembered that all this was in English waters, held in 
the greatest estiination as glorious, because it was a chal- 
lenge to England on her own wide dominion, in sight of 
her dominating shores, — the whole enterprise and combat 
guided by an intelligence as luminous as the inspiration of 
the adventure was daring. 

The daring character of Jones Is shown in the story of 
his attack on Whitehaven, on the coast of England, a sea- 
port of considerable prominence. Two boats were lowered 
from the Ranger each manned by fifteen men, armed 
with cudasses and pistols; Jones commanding the one and 
his lieutenant, Wallingford, the other boat. It was their 
intention to destroy the two hundred and twenty vessels 
lying there. Wallingford was ordered to take possession 
of the north side of the harbor, while Jones landed at the 
town. Whitehaven was guarded, at that time, by two forts 
commanding thirty-eight guns. Both of these forts Jones 
captured, spiking the guns and locking up the guards. 
Wallingford, for some unknown reason, returned to the 
ship without accomplishing anything, but Jones, w^ith his 
fourteen men held the town and fired the shipping in the 
face of thousands of the inhabitants, among which were no 
less than twelve hundred sailors. Single handed, Jones 
held off this crowd with an old flint lock pistol, finally 
entering his boat after giving the fire an opportunity to 
make good headway. Before Jones was well out in the 
Bay the townspeople found a few cannon which had been 
overlooked by him. These they brought to bear upon 
him in such an unsteady manner as to produce no other 



OUR FIRST APPEARANCE AS A SEA POWER. 63 

result than to receive In return, sarcastically, a single sliot 
from the pistol of Jones. 

While cruising off the east coast of Scotland between 
the Solway and the Clyde, Jones tried to capture the Earl 
ot Selkirk in order to secure a noted prisoner for exchange. 
The earl had been an old friend of Jones' father. His seat 
was at the mouth of the Dee, and there, in his boyhood, 
our hero had gamboled under the shadow of its majestic 
oaks. He anchored his vessel in the Solway at noon, and 
with a few men in a single boat, he landed at a wooded 
promontory on which the earl's fine estate lay. He learned 
that his lordship was not at home. Greatly disappointed, 
he ordered his men back to the boat intending to call ag-ain 
later. His lieutenant, however, a large and fiery seaman, 
proposed to go to the mansion and plunder it of the family 
plate, Jones would not listen to this proposition, for the 
memory of old associations softened his heart toward the 
old Lady Selkirk, who had been very kind to him in his 
youth. His lieutenant insisted, however, on rarrying out 
his plans and was seconded by the crew who were eager 
for prize money, and in defiance of his expostulations they 
went to the house and demanded the plate. The frightened 
Lady Selkirk surrendered it with her own hands. Later 
Jones bought these treasures and sent them back to Lady 
Selkirk with a letter of regret, apologizing for the annoy- 
ance she had been subjected to. 

During the early part of 1779 Jones, with a fieet of five 
vessels, left the French port of the L'Orient in the middle 
of August, to cruise off the coast of England and Scotland. 
His flagship was the Bo7i Homme Richard. While making 
an attack on several armed British vessels In the harbor 
of Leith, a storm arose driving him into the North Sea, 
thus preventing him from attacking several English war 



64 OUR FIRST APPEARANCE AS A SEA POWER. 

ships. He created great excitement and alarm along the 
Scottish coast, capturing many prizes. On the 23d ot Sep- 
tember, while off the mouth of the Humber, he discovered 
a Heet of British merchantmen convoyed by the Serapis 
anel Countess of Scarboi'ough. Jones at once signaled to 
crowd on all sail and give chase. All of the vessels of his 
squadron immediately answered his signals and got under 
way, excepting die Alliance, commanded by Captain Lan- 
dais. Before the American ships got within gunshot of the 
enemy, darkness had set in. The fight began, however, in 
the gloom of night, and was one of the most desperate 
sea fights on record. The Bo7i Homme Richard and 
Serapis, came so close to each other that their spars and 
rigging became entangled. Jones, taking advantage of 
the opportunity, made a rush for the deck of. the British 
ship, but after a short contest with pike, pistol and cutlass, 
was- repulsed. The vessels, in the meantime, separated 
and there began a fearful broadside fire with the guns 
muzzle to muzzle. Both vessels were dreadfully shattered, 
and at one time the Serapis was ablaze in a dozen places. 
Just as the moon rose at half past nine o'clock, the Richard 
took fire and began to sink. Jones seeing that his ship 
could not last much longer, again began to board the 
British vessel and a terrific hand to hand fight ensued. 
The light of the flames of the burning ships revealed to 
Jones that the main mast of his antagonist was almost in 
two. He quickly ordered it shot away and within an instant 
the British ship was made helpless. 

The marines fought with the fury of madmen until 
the Serapis struck her colors. Jones hastily transferred 
his men to the conquered ship and the Poor Richard 
went down. So desperate was the engagement that 
of the three hundred and seventy-five men on board 



OUR FIRST APPEARANCE AS A SEA POWER. 65 

the fleet of Jones, three hundred were either killed or 
wounded. 

As Pearson handed his sword to Jones he said, in a surly 
tone, "It is very painful to deliver up my sword to a man 
who has fought with a rope around his neck." Jones had 
been declared a pirate by the British government and he 
would have been hung had he been captured. Pearson, for 
his plucky attempt to capture Jones was knighted by the 
King. Jones on hearing of this said, "Well, he deserves 
it, and if I fall on him again I will make a lord of him." 
The battle lasted three hours, and in that time Jones had 
lost the Bon Homme Richcu'd and had taken the Serapis. 
Yov this victory Congress gave Jones the thanks of the 
Nation and a s^old medal. 

The news of this wonderful victory excited the world 
and respect for American bravery increased. The battle 
was bloody and unprecedented in naval warfare. For an 
hour and a half the Ser-apis, a large British frigate, engaged 
the Poor Richaj^d within musket shot. Then the vessels, 
both in a sinking condition, were run alongside and lashed 
together. During the battle, the Alliance, one of Jones' 
vessels under Captain Landais, came up and fired a broad- 
side into the stern of the Bon Homme Richard, thereby 
intending, it is thought, to kill Jones and take the Serapis 
in her disabled condition in order to gain the glory. The 
Scarborough was captured after an hour's battle by the 
Pallas under Captain Cottineau. 

John Paul Jones was born July 6, 1747, in Scodand. His 
father, John Paul, was a gardener. When only eighteen our 
hero commanded a vessel trading with the West Indies. 
In 1773 he came to Virginia to take charge of the estate of 
his brother who died there. When war broke out in the 
colonies he offered his services to Congress, and was made 



66 OUR FIRST APPEARANCE AS A SEA POWER. 

first lieutenant in the navy in December, 1775. Out of 
gratitude to General Jones, of North Carolina, he assumed 
his name ; before that he was John Paul. He was a bold 
commander and gathered up many valuable prizes. He 
was made captain in the fall of 1776, and given command 
of the Alfred. One oi his first acts was to destroy the 
fisheries at Port Royal, Nova Scotia, capturing a great 
number of vessels and freight. In 1777 he sailed to Europe 
in the Ranger, the first American ship that sailed under 
the stars and stripes, and in 1778 received from a French 
commander the first salute ever given to the American flag 
by a foreign man-of-war. 

Congress gave him a gold medal and a commission as 
commander of the Ainerica, which was soon after presented 
to France. Jones entered the service of Russia as rear 
admiral in 1787, and in consequence of a victory over the 
Turks he was made vice admiral and kniahted. On his 
death in Paris the National Assembly decreed him a public 
luneral. It is, however, not known where he is buried. 

This chapter could not be more fidy closed than by re- 
curring to the first time our Hag floated over a ship of war, 
the first batde fought at sea under the flag, and the glorious 
engagement of everlasting fame between the Bon Homme 
Richard 2lW(\ the Serapis, written not only in fiery characters 
and made resplendent In letters of gold in the triumphs of 
the brave, but so truly recorded in pages that shall oudast 
tablets of brass and marble, carved deep with familiar trib- 
utes, and above all shining in letters of light in the halls of 
memory, haunted with the glories that will be cherished 
through all time, through the decorations that rise in lustre 
and fade into the shadows, that all but the immortals are 
and nursue. 



CHAPTER V. 

CONQUEST OF THE NORTH-WEST TERRTrOl^V. 

George Rogers Clark the Winner of the Title for the United States of the 
Northwestern Territory, Preparing the Way for the Louisiana Purchase 
— His Slender Means and Vast Achievements — He Captures Kaskaskia 
and Vincennes — His Wonderful Wading March in the Wabash Flood — 
He Died a Poor Man, but one of the Immortals. 

The name of George Rogers Clark should always be re- 
membered as of one who contributed, by acts of almost 
incredible bravery and hardihood, to broadening the foun- 
dations of this Great Republic. His fame should be asso- 
ciated with that of George Washington, as one who was 
engaged in heroic enterprise to secure good land for the 
people of the States destined to expand as the course of 
empire took its way westward, even to the shores of the 
Pacific. ■ Washington was the foremost man in fighting the 
French from their Ohio lines, and Clark was the leader who, 
as our Revolutionary war drew to a close, secured, by cap- 
turing British posts, a title that finally could not be ignored 
in the treaty with England, and at last defined the territory 
of the United States, to extend beyond the Alleghenies. 
The Northwest was conquered from the British by Clark. 
That was the deed of empire. 

George Rogers Clark was a native of the prolific county 
of Albemarle, Vircjinia, a neifjhbor and friend of Thomas 
Jefferson. He emigrated to Kentucky, when that great State 
was a county of the State of Virginia. The treaty that 
closed the war of the Revolution was made in 1783, but 
the final adjustments were not fixed for several years. 
Mary Cone, in the " Magazine of Western History," cites a 

67 



68 CO.\(J( J:sJd- IJJI-: .\oRTII WEST TERRITORY. 

remarkable chapter of our history, in which we came near 
^Mving up the Northwest and the Mississippi Valley to the 
British, in these terms : 

" When France entered into an alliance with the United 
States, one of the conditions of the treaty was that peace 
with England should not be made by that government 
until the independence of the United States, in all its 
entirety, should be acknowledged by Great Britain. By 
this compact die nation was bound, so that the question as 
to what territory was actually in possession of the United 
States when hostilities ceased was one of prime importance, 
and the answer to it must determine the line of action, at 
least, for France. 

" The territory beyond the disputed line was readily dis- 
posed of. England gave up the Floridas to Spain, France 
relinquished all claim to its once splendid domain, and 
accepted, instead thereof, the Bermudas. England retained 
the extended territory in the north. But neither of the 
three great powers, that had taken the adjustment of 
matters into their hands, showed much generosity toward 
the United States. Differing in many things, they agreed 
in wishing to prevent the expansion of the new country 
toward the west. There was at first an attempt to make 
the Alleghenies a cordon to bind them in, and prevent 
growth in that direction. The utmost liberality of the triple 
governments sufficed only to grant the Ohio river for the 
western boundary. Neither of the nations cared very 
much who should have the vast territory lying to the west- 
ward, so that the United States did not have it. If it could 
be saved from the grasp of the young nation, that had 
already given proof of will to purpose, and energy to per- 
form, after-consideration might determine what disposition 
should be made of it. 



CONQUEST OF THE NORTH-UESl TERRITORY. 69 

"The commissioners from the United States were Benja- 
min Franklin, John Adams and John Jay. Monsieur Vergen- 
nes, the able minister of Louis XIV., so areued the case 
with Dr. Franklin, and so presented the difficulty, if not 
impossibility, of securing peace on any better terms than 
making the Ohio river the boundary, that, fearing to lose 
the whole by trying to grasp too much, he was finally 
induced to agree to accept that condition, rather than run 
the risk of renewing the war by demanding more territory. 
John Jay also was persuaded to consent to the same, 
though he yielded with much reluctance. There remained 
only John Adams to be won over to that view of the case. 
But he, with far-seeing eye, saw that a great nation could 
not be built up on the Atlantic coast, if severed from the 
Mississippi and the west. To him it seemed the manifest 
purpose and intent of Providence that, in the lap of this 
continent, there should be a mighty nation between the 
eastern and western extremities, of which the Mississippi 
should be the bond of union. There could be no orreat 
compact and powerful government that did not own and 
control the great Father of Rivers, which, taking up the 
waters shed by the Alleghenies on the east, and holding 
them in his hands, while he gathers topfether the drainag^e 
of the Rocky Mountains on the west, goes on his way with 
the commingled flood, till he pours the whole into the great 
ocean ; and to the prophetic eye there could be seen to go 
on the surface of the flood the commerce of a great nation, 
that owned and governed the whole — the offering of a free 
people to the welfare and business of the world. It was 
plain to see that a nation that would be great must hold 
the Mississippi and its tributaries in its possession. When, 
therefore, the proposition was made to him to fall short of 
this goal, and take the Ohio river for his country's bound- 



70 COXQL'EST OF THE NORT/f-U'EST TERRirORY. 

ary, and thereby relinquish all right to the magnificent 
domain lying to the westward, sturdy John Adams said : 
• No ! never ! ' and he declared that, sooner than agree to 
such terms, he would go home and exhort his countrymen 
to buckle on their swords again and load their guns anew, 
and fight till there was no more blood to be poured out, or 
until their just demands were agreed to. 

" Yet his remonstrance and opposition would not have 
availed had not the claim to territory west of the Ohio, on 
the part of the United States, been based upon a show of 
right. The guarantee of France enabled the commissioners 
to claim from Great Britain not only all the territory pos- 
sessed by right of purchase or treaty before the war, but 
also all that had been conquered during the war. That, at 
the commencement of hostilities, the colonies did not pos- 
sess a rood of land, not an outpost or a fort west of the 
Ohio, was admitted by all the parties concerned ; and, but 
for the courage and enterprise of a brave and able man, 
with a mere handful of men as brave as himself, there 
would not have been the shadow of a foundation upon 
which to base a claim of conquest during the war." 

This brave and able man was Geo. Rogers Clark. Ban- 
croft said, as he proposed to record the enterprise of Clark, 
that " the valor of its actors, their fidelity to one another, 
and the seemlnir feebleness of their means and the o^reat 
results of their hardihood, remain forever memorable in 
the history of the world." During the Revolutionary war, 
the west was much neglected, and there was a great deal 
of opinion to the effect that the country would be better 
off without the west — more homogeneous and easily self- 
governed. 

George Rogers Clark loved land as Washington did, and 
marked it not for himself, though all the pay he got was 



CONQUEST OF THE NORTH-WEST 'lERRITORY. 71 

land and much depreciated paper money, as for the people. 
He was in his youth, as Washington was, a surveyor, and 
was thus educated for dominion in the wilderness. He 
distinguished himself in war against French and Indians, 
and was offered a commission in the British army. He 
appeared in Kentucky in 1774, twenty-two years of age, 
and became a permanent resident two years later. The 
gifted historical writer Mary Cone says of him : 

" He was a born leader, and could not anywhere, and 
under any circumstances, have been kept in the back- 
ground. Of fine appearance and commanding presence, 
he so impressed those with whom he came in contact with 
his superiority, that its recognition was prompt and sincere. 
Yet he was grenial and heartsome to such an extent that it 
was a willing obeisance he gained from the hearts of his 
fellow-men. The first office of trust to which he was chosen 
was that of representative of the county of Kentucky in 
the House of Burcresses in Virginia. It was the first time 

o o 

the district had been represented in the body by which it 
was governed. He and one Gabriel Jones, the other rep- 
resentative, set out together for the capital of Virginia, but 
their progress was so slow, and their journey so long, that 
the legislature had adjourned before they reached Wil- 
liamsburg, the seat of government. Determined to be of 
use to the county he had been chosen to represent, Clark 
waited upon the governor, the celebrated Patrick Henry, 
and after stating the necessities and exposed condition of 
the people of Kentucky, asked for a supply of gunpowder 
to help them in defending their homes against the attack of 
the Indians. It was not until after much entreaty and skill- 
ful manoeuverinor that he succeeded in obtaining from the 
council an order for the needed supply. The trouble was 
not over then. He incurred great risk and encountered 



7, CO.\OiL:,J UF THE NORTH- WEST TERRriORY. 

numerous difficulties in getting the gunpowder to Ken- 
tucky." 

Tiiis was the beginning of Clark's great achievements. 
The British were in possession, at this time, of important 
posts ceded to them by France in 1765. Kaskaskia, Vin- 
cennes. called St. Vincents, and Detroit, were held by British 
o-arrisons. Kaskaskia was the capital of Illinois, called by 
tlie French Upper Louisiana, and w^as settled in 1683. In 

-- Kaskaskia had two hundred and fifty houses, and the 



/ / / 



inhabitants were French. Vincennes, one hundred and 
fifty miles above the mouth of the W'abash, was called by 
the English, Sackville. The place was named by the 
iM-ench for Francois Morgan de Vincenne, who commanded 
the post in 1733. Detroit was an old French towm that 
had fallen into the hands of the English along wdth the 
rest of the spoil of France. These places were depots for 
arming the savages, and there w^as a trade in scalps. The 
policy of the linglish was to confederate the Indian tribes, 
and use them to strike the revolted colonies along the 
Atlantic, in the rear. It was the great merit of Clark to 
understand the situation, both as soldier and statesman. 
He saw all the circvmistances, generalized facts, and studied 
out conclusions. He made particular note of the fact that 
the military posts of the British w^ere in French towns, 
and that the French might render him assistance as against 
the British. There was some Indian dissatisfaction with 
the British, especially in the Delaware and Shawnee tribes. 
Clark kejit his plans secret and sent two young men in the 
summer of 1777 to examine the British posts. Their 
re|)ort was so encouraging that he set out at once for 
Williamsburg to get aid from Virginia. The surrender of 
lUirgoyn(', while he was making the journey, caused him 
to be listened to. In November Clark stated his plans to 




THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION IN THE YELLOWSTONE REGION. 




SPAIN CEDES HER LAST FOOTHOLD IN AMERICA TO REPUBLICANISM. 




Sl'ANIbH-AMLRICA ONK HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 



CONQUEST OF THE NORTH-WESl TERRITORY. 



75 



Governor Henry. As secrecy had to be observed, the 
legislature could not be taken into confidence. Clark 
wanted five hundred men. Amonor those trusted with the 
secret were Thomas Jefferson, George Mason and George 
Wythe. Clark believed in himself so much that they be- 
lieved in him. The governor promoted Clark to a col- 
onelcy, and he received January 2, 1778, two sets of in- 
structions, the one for show, the other for use, twelve 
hundred pounds in degenerate currency and the privilege 
of enlisting his men anywhere west of the Alleghenies. 
He also received a guarantee that these men would use 
their best endeavors to secure a grant of three hundred 
acres of land to every man who enlisted in the undertak- 
ing. The governor addressed orders to a Virginia officer 
at Fort Pitt, desiring him to furnish ammunition, boats and 
all necessary equipments. The secret orders which Colonel 
Clark received from Governor Henry closed with these 
words : 

"The corps you are to command are to receive the pay 
and allowance of militia. . . . It is in contemplation to 
establish a fort near the mouth of Ohio. Cannon will be 
wanted to fortify it. Part of those at Kaskaskia will be 
easily brought thither or otherwise secured as circumstances 
will make necessary. You are to apply to General Hand, 
at Pittsburg, for powder and lead necessary for this expedi- 
tion. If he can't supply it, the person who has that which 
Captain Lynn brought from New Orleans can. Lead was 
sent to Hampshire by my orders that it may be delivered 
to you. Wishing you success, 

" I am, sir, your humble servant, 

" P. Henry." 

As Clark could not make public explanation of his pur- 

5 . 



76 tOMJ i tbf OF THE NOR TH- U 'EST TERRITOR V. 

poses, and was supposed to be raising troops to protect 
K(.'ntiicky, recruiting was slow. He had expected to find 
all the men wanted at Fort Pitt, but got only one hundred. 
He sent agents to Kentucky, got a few additional adven- 
turers on the way, and while descending the Ohio heard of 
the French alliance. He knew as Cone, the historian, says : 

"As the forts he intended to attack and take, if possible, 
were in a territory occupied mainly by French inhabitants, 
it would go far toward securing their good will, and ulti- 
mately their assistance, to be able to assure them that the 
King of France and the government of France were 
friends to his cause and enemies to the alien garrison to 
which they were already none too friendly. The voyage 
down the river was successfully accomplished and the falls 
of the Ohio reached in safety. The troops were landed on 
Corn Island, opposite Louisville, and Colonel Clark pro- 
ceeded to fortify the island that he might, with the hope of 
safety, leave there the families that had come with him from 
Pennsylvania. 

"The time had at last come when he might and ought to 
reveal to his men the important secret that concerned them 
so nearly. Colonel Clark assembled his troops, and in a 
few stirring words made known to them the real object of 
the expedition. It was not to defend Kentucky that they 
had been mustered in, but to take the offensive and dis- 
lodge the British from the forts which they were making 
the centres of supplies for the Indians, and from whence 
these savages were sent out to murder defenceless women 
and helpless children, and burn and torment every living 
thing that fell into their hands. The announcement was 
received with shouts of applause." 

One company fell out of line, however. Some Tennes- 
seeans failed to appear, and on the 24th of June Clark 



CONQUEST OF THE NORTH-WEST 'lERRITORY. 77 

Started with four small companies, all told one hundred 
and fifty men. Each man carried his own baggage. , The 
first thinof was to take Kaskaskia. The boats were rushed 
down the Ohio, and in four days were at the mouth 
of the Tennessee. A boat with hunters eight days out from 
Kaskaskia was captured, and the news was encouraging. 
The distance overland was about 100 miles. Of Colonel 
Clark it is said : "He fared no better in any way than his 
men ; carried his own knapsack and gun, bore his full share 
in every hardship, and with story and song tried to interest 
and amuse his men." 

There were fifty miles of rough country and fifty of prai- 
ries, very swampy. July 4th Kaskaskia was in sight. 
Boats were found a mile from the fort, the men crossed, 
and Clark's journal says : " I immediately divided my little 
army into two divisions, ordered one to surround the town 
and with the other broke into the fort and secured the 
governor, M. Rocheblame. In fifteen minutes we had every 
street secured and the garrison, with their commandant, 
prisoners. ... I sent runners through the town ordering 
the people on pain of death to keep close in their houses. 
, . . Before daylight we had the whole town disarmed." 

The English were in superior force. Colonel Clark's 
success was due to the secrecy of his expedition. He began 
to work at once upon the fears and jealousies of the French. 
He had the chief men of the town collected, and, after ex- 
plaining to them the causes of the war between Great 
Britain and her colonies, told them that thouorh the fate 
of war had placed them in his hands, it was the custom of 
the Americans to make those whom they captured free. If 
they were already wearing shackles they were knocked off 
They had been reduced to subjection by the English. The 
king of France, their king, was the friend of the Americans. 



yS CONQUEST OF THE NORTH-WESl TERRITORY. 

He had promised to help them in their fight with the Brit- 
ish. Therefore Frenchmen everywhere were regarded as 
brothers by the Americans. They were now free to choose. 
If they preferred to join the British, the enemy of France 
as well as America, they could do so. But if they chose to 
take the oath of allegiance and become American citizens, 
they might do that, and they should be entitled to all the 
rights of citizenship. The reply was that they would be 
the happiest people in the world if they might be allowed 
to unite with the Americans. Their priest, Pierre Gibault, 
had recently come from Canada, where he had heard the 
causes of the war discussed, and knew the merits of the 
case. He was already in favor of the American cause, and 
worked zealously to bring his people over to his views. 
They wanted permission to meet in their church, and were 
told to do so as often as they pleased, and they became 
devoted to Clark and his cause. Many of the Indians 
became converted to the American cause. His next ob- 
jective point was Fort St. Vincent ; but his force was so 
small it was necessary to keep it concealed except to the 
guards. Re-enforcements were promised, but they came 
not. The Kaskaskia priest visited Vincennes and reported 
favorably of the disposition of the people. Clark sent a pro- 
clamation to the people about the fort. Captain Helm 
accompanied the priest. The commandant of the fort was ab- 
sent at Detroit, feeling perfectly secure. The people trans- 
ferred their allegiance, and Captain Helm took posses- 
sion. Suddenly the British came down the Wabash eight hun- 
dred strong under General Hamilton and retook Vincennes. 
There were two men in the garrison when it surrendered ; 
Captain Helm and one private. 

"When the attack began Captain Helm placed a cannon 
in the open gate of the fort, which was charged by the 



CONQUEST OF THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. 79 

soldier, a man named Henry, while Captain Helm stood by 
with a lighted torch ready to touch it off. When Governor 
Hamilton and his troops were within hailing distance, 
Captain Helm cried ' Halt ! ' The governor demanded 
the surrender of the garrison. Captain Helm declared 
with an oath that no man should enter until he knew the 
terms demanded. The answer was, ' You shall have the 
honors of war.' The conditions were accepted, and the 
garrison surrendered with its entire force, — one officer and 
one private." Hamilton was reported on the march to 
retake Kaskaskia, but he did not come. There was a story 
that an expedition had started from Pittsburg to capture 
Detroit, and Clark was elated, but his information was 
untrue. He concluded that his safe course was to take 
the offensive, because if he could not take Hamilton, 
Hamilton would take him. It was midwinter and Ham- 
ilton proposed an early spring campaign. Col. Clark 
says : 

" I collected the officers and told them the possibility I 
thought there was of turning the scale in our favor. They 
were all eager for the undertaking and all hands set about 
getting ready for an enterprise that to the eye of cool, cal- 
culating persons would have appeared not only hazardous, 
but foolhardy." 

As many recruits as possible were gathered from among 
the French. The women took a warm interest in the 
movement and presented standards to the different com- 
panies and cheered and encouraged the men. A large 
boat was prepared which mounted two four-pounders and 
four large swivels ; an abundant supply of provisions was 
put on board. The boat was called "The Willing" and 
Lieutenant Rogers in command. He had on board only 
forty-six men ; but few as there were of them, there was 



So CONQUEST OF THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. 

enough courage and energy among them to have suppHed 
a ship of war. This boat was to follow the Kaskaskia 
river into the Mississippi, go down that to the Ohio, and 
up the Ohio till the mouth of the Wabash was reached. 
The Wabash would bring it to St. Vincent's, it was hoped, 
in time to meet the force that was to go across the country, 
and co-operate with them in taking the fort. 

Colonel Clark started on the 5th of February, 1778, 
He says : 

"I cannot account for it, but I still had an inward assur- 
ance of success, and never could, when weighing every- 
thinor, doubt it. But I had some inward check." 

The distance to be traversed was 250 miles. The force 
numbered 170. The enemy had about 680. Major Bow- 
man, with Clark, kept a journal : 

•'February 7. — Began our march early; made a good 
march for about nine hours ; the roads very bad with mud 
and water, 

"8th. — March early through the waters, which w^e now 
begin to meet in these large and level plains, where, from 
the flatness of the country, the water rests for a considera- 
ble time before it drains off. Notwithstanding which, our 
men were in great spirits, though much fatigued. 

"13th. — Arrived at the two Wabashes. Although a 
league asunder, they now make but one. We set to 
making a canoe. 

" 14th. — Finished the canoe and put it into the river 
about four in the afternoon. 

"15th. — Ferried across the Wabashes (now known as 
the Litde Wabash and Muddy rivers), it being then five 
miles in water to the opposite hills, where we encamped. 
Still raining. Orders not to fire any guns in future but in 
case of necessity. 



CONQUEST OF THE NORTH-WEST 'lERRlTORY. 8i 

" i6th. — Marched all day through mud and water ; our 
provisions begin to be short. 

" 17th. — Marched very early ; crossed several runs very 
deep. Sent Mr. Kennedy, our commissary, with three 
men to cross the river Embarrass, if possible, and proceed 
to a plantation opposite Post St. Vincent's, in order to steal 
boats or canoes to ferry us across the Wabash. Found the 
country all overflowed with water. We strove to find the 
Wabash. Traveled till eight o'clock in mud and water, but 
could find no place to encamp upon. Still kept marching on, 
but after some time Mr. Kennedy and his party returned — 
found it impossible to cross the river Embarrass. We found 
the water falling from a small spot of ground. Stayed there 
the remainder of the night. Drizzly and dark weather. 

" 1 8th. — At break of day heard Governor Hamilton's 
morning gun. Set off and marched down the river. Saw 
some fine land. About two o'clock came to the bank of 
the Wabash ; made rafts for four men to cross and go up 
town and steal boats. But they spent all day and night in 
the water to no purpose, for there was not one foot of dry 
land to be found." In the closing paragraph of his journal, 
on the eighteenth, Major Bowman says : " No provisions 
now for two days. Hard fortune." 

" 20th. — Camp very quiet but hungry. Some almost in 
despair. 

"22d. — Colonel Clark encourages his men, which gives 
them great spirits. Marched on in the waters. Those 
that were weak and famished with so much fatigue, went in 
the canoes. . . . No provisions yet. Lord help us ! 

"23d. — Set off to cross the plain called Horseshoe plain, 
about four miles lono-, all covered with water breast hieh. 
Here w^e expected some of our brave men must certainly 
perish, having froze in the night and so long fasting." 



S2 CONQUEST OF THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. 

Colonel Clark writes of this dreadful time : 
"This last day's march through the water was superior 
to anything the Frenchmen had any idea of. ... A canoe 
was sent off and returned without finding that we could 
pass. I went in her myself and sounded the water, and 
found it deep as to my neck. I returned with the design 
to have the men transported on board the canoes to the 
sugar camp, which I knew would spend the whole day and 
ensuing night, as the vessels w^ould pass slowly through 
the bushes. The loss of so much time to men half-starved 
was a matter of consequence. I would have given a great 
deal now for a day's provisions or for one of our horses. 
I returned but slowly to the troops, giving myself time to 
think. On our arrival all ran to hear our report. Every 
eye was fixed on me. I unfortunately spoke in a serious 
manner to one of the officers. The whole were alarmed 
without knowing what I said. I viewed their confusion for 
about one minute, whispered to those near me to do as 1 
did, immediately put some water in my hand, poured in 
powder, blackened my face, gave the war-whoop, marched 
into the water without saying a word. The party gazed, 
fell in one after another without saying a word, like a flock 
of sheep. I ordered the men near me to give a favorite 
song of theirs. It soon passed through the line and the 
whole went on cheerfully. . . . They reached a sugar camp 
in which there was about half an acre of dry ground. 
Hungry and wear}', the men lay down there and slept till 
morning. The most of the weather we had on our march 
was moist and warm for the season. This was the coldest 
night we had. The ice in the mornincr was from one-half to 
three-quarters of an inch thick near the shores and in still 
water. A little after sunrise I lectured the whole. I con- 
cluded by informing them that passing the plain that was 



COiy QUEST OF THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. S3 

in full view, and reaching the opposite woods, would put 
an end to their fatigue, and immediately stepped into the 
water. A huzza took place. As we generally marched 
through the water in a line, before the third entered I halted 
and called to Major Bowman, ordering him to put to death 
any man who refused to 'march, as we wished to have no 
such person among us. The whole gave a cry of appro- 
bation and on we went. This was the most trying of all 
the difficulties we had experienced. 

" I generally kept fifteen or twenty of the strongest men 
near myself, and judged from my own feelings what must be 
those of the others. Getting about the middle of the plain, 
the water about mid-deep, I found myself sensibly failing, 
and as there were no trees or bushes for the men to sup- 
port themselves, I feared that many of the most weak would 
be drowned. I ordered the canoes to make the land, dis- 
charge their loading, and ply backward and forward with 
all diligence and pick up the men, and to encourage the 
party, sent some of the men forward, with orders, when 
they got to a certain distance, to pass the word back that 
the water was getting shallower, and when getting near 
the woods to cry out 'land.' This stratagem had the 
desired effect. The men, encouraged by it, exerted them- 
selves almost beyond their abilities — the weak holding by 
the stronger. Getting to the woods, where the men ex- 
pected land, the water was up to my shoulders, but gain- 
ing the woods was of great consequence. All the low 
men and weakly hung to the trees and floated on all old 
logs until they were taken off by the canoes. The tall and 
strong got ashore and built fires. Many would reach the 
shore and fall with their bodies half in the water, not beingf 
able to support themselves without it." 

Colonel Clark's expedition was in a forlorn state when 



84 CONQUEST OF 7 HE NORTH- WE ST TERRITORY. 

\'incennes was approached. The armed boat with fifty 
men and j^rovisions did not come. There was no food, and 
the march had been exhausting and distressing. A young 
hVenchman out shooting ducks was taken prisoner, and 
stated the fort was finished, and there were six hundred 
men to defend it. There was one gleam of cncour- 
a<,^ement, the fact that the iM-ench were the friends of 
the Americans, and there was no thought that Clark would 
venture on a winter campaign. The case was desperate. 
An Indian canoe loaded with supplies was captured and 
starvation averted. Clark wrote a letter to the inhabitants 
of the town saying that he would take it, and they should 
remain in their houses. He then moved in full sight of the 
fort, over uneven ground, and took advantage of the hills 
to deceive the enemy' as to his strength. The history of 
the mancKuver is given by Cone as follows : 

"When Clark was enlisting his men in lUinois, flags had 
been given generally by ladies to each of the small bodies 
of troops gathered in the towns and villages. These were 
hung out to the wind on this occasion, and were enough 
for a thousand men. By marching and counter-marching 
through the ravine and over the elevations in the view of 
the garrison, these men seemed to be tenfold more in num- 
ber than they really were." 

After three days' skirmishing Clark demanded the sur- 
render of the fort, and being refused, made so vigorous 
an attack that Governor Hamilton asked for an interview. 
Clark was so resolute and exacting that he imposed upon 
Hamilton, who, intimidated, agreed to surrender on these 
terms. 

1st. — Lieutenant-Colonel Hamilton engages to deliver 
up to Colonel Clark Fort Sackville as it is at present, with 
all its stockade, etc. 



CONQUEST OF THE NORTH-WEST 'lERRTTORY. 85 

2d. — The garrison are to deliver themselves as prisoners 
of war, and march out with their arms and accoutrements, etc. 

At ten o'clock on the 25th of February Colonel Hamilton 
surrendered the fort, the sentries were relieved, the tri- 
colored flag soon waved from the tower of the garrison and 
thirteen guns were fired to celebrate the victory. Two 
days after the surrender the armed batteau arrived. It 
was estimated that the stores surrendered were worth $50,- 
000. Hamilton was sent to Virginia, imprisoned and 
treated as a felon, for he had been engaged in "buying 
hair," that is, scalps taken by the Indians. Washington 
at last decided to have Hamilton treated as a prisoner of 
war. Colonel Clark's personal ascendancy alone seems to 
account for the surrender of six hundred men in a well- 
furnished fort to less dian two hundred. He was ambi- 
tious to take Detroit, but the paper money given him to 
defray expenses depreciated so that he had to use his 
personal credit, and was disabled and impoverished. He 
was, after two years, made a brigadier-general and ordered 
to raise men to capture Detroit, but failed, for he had to 
fight Indians with the troops he succeeded in raising. This 
was in 1781. Misfortunes crowded upon him, and it seemed 
that having, with slender forces, done wonderful things, 
establishing the title of his country to an empire, his per- 
sonal force declined, and, that made manifest, he became a 
dreamer of vague triumphs rather than an actor who real- 
ized ambitious hopes. Virginia granted, in 1781, "one 
hundred and fifty thousand acres of land to the officers and 
soldiers who aided General Clark in his enterprise, the 
land to be located between the Scioto and Little Miami 
rivers, which tract was reserved for that purpose when 
Virginia relinquished to the general government her claims 
to territory west of the Ohio." 



86 



CONQUEST OF THE NORTH- WEST TERRITORY. 



Robert E. Coleman, writing In " Harper's Magazine," In 
1 86 1, quotes Governor Harrison writing to Colonel Clark 

July 3d, 1783: , r • 

"The conclusion of the war and the distressed condition 
of the hnances of the State call on us to adopt the most 
prudent economy. It Is for this reason alone that I have 
come to the determination to give over, for the present, all 
thoucrht of carrying on offensive war with the Indians, 
which, you will easily perceive, will render necessary the 
employment of a general officer In that quarter, and will 
therefore consider yourself out of command. But before I 
take leave 1 feel called upon, In the most forcible manner, 
to return you my thanks, and those of my council, for the 
very trreat and singular services you have rendered to your 
country by wresting so great and extensive a country out 
of the hands of the British enemy, repelling the attacks of 
their savage allies, and carrying on a successful war in the 
very heart of their country. This tribute of thanks and 
praise, so justly your due, I am happy to communicate to 
you as the united voice of the Executive," etc. 

Colonel Clark was given a tract of land in Indiana, oppo- 
site Louisville. Coleman says of the close of Clark's 
career : "His day of glory was over, and his career finished 
at an age when that of many has but just begun, and at 
thirty-one he was laid aside like a superannuated veteran. 
The very prime of that powerful and active genius was lost 
to his country, as well as to his own fame, and left to rust 
away in obscurity ; or, sadder still, to destroy itself by seek- 
ing a forbidden relief from vain longing and repinlngs, 
while war was raging along the whole frontier, from Lake 
Huron to the confines of Florida; and when at times It 
appeared as if the misdirected power of the whole conti- 
nent combined would fail to hold that country which he, 



CONQUEST OF THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. 87 

with a mere handful of men, had wrested from the hands of 
the EngHsh. 

" At last, so inefficient was the protection afforded by 
the regular army, and so audacious had the attacks of the 
savao-es on the Ohio become, that the Kentuckians thought 
it once more necessary to take their defence into their own 
hands. After three years of retirement Clark was again 
called to take command of an expedition against the 
tribes in Indiana. But he was no longer the leader who 
had waded the flooded Wabash to recapture Vincennes, 
and whose swift blows had so promptly avenged the fall of 
Ruddell's Station, or the defeat of the Blue Licks. The 
army, numbering about twelve hundred men, marched from 
the falls in the summer of 1786 toward Vincennes, expect- 
ing to meet at that point their provisions, which had been 
placed on keel-boats to be transported up the Wabash. 
But it soon became evident that the General no loneer 
possessed that absolute ascendancy over his soldiers which 
had rendered his former operations so marvellously rapid 
and energetic. A spirit of defiance among the superior 
officers, and of disaffection and insubordination among the 
men, quickly began to manifest itself. This was increased 
to absolute mutiny when it was discovered that the com- 
mander had sent a flag of truce to the enemy for the pur- 
pose of demanding whether they would have peace or war. 
This act, which at once destroyed all chance of effecting a 
surprise, would appear, at first sight, to indicate a state of 
mind bordering on fatuity. But it is all explained when we 
learn that the whole enterprise was unlawful, as Kentucky 
had no right to send, without the authority of the Federal 
Government, such an expedition against tribes living be- 
yond her own borders ; tribes, too, with whom Clark him- 
self had, as United States Commissioner, negotiated a 



88 CONQUEST OF THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. 

treaty of peace only one year before, and he was naturally 
unwilling to make an unannounced attack upon people who 
had never been proved to have violated that treaty. His 
error was in accepting the command at all under these 
circumstances." 

The expedition ended in the mutiny and dispersion of 
the force. Coleman says : 

"This failure gave a blow to the reputation of Clark 
from which it never recovered. Yet no vital error can be 
discovered in his conduct, and had his advice been followed 
success would have been certain. In vigor or generalship 
we can see no diminution ; it was his ability to command 
obedience that was gone." 

Colonel Clark had a fault to commit. He was one of 
those captivated by the French Minister Genet, and under- 
took to raise troops in Kentucky to go against the Span- 
iards in Louisiana, and accepted a position as Major-Gen- 
' eral in the French army. This proved fictitious. Genet 
lost his head and left the country under a cloud. Wilkin- 
son intrigued against Clark and wrote (Coleman's account) 
"exultingly, to a friend in Lexington, 'The sun of General 
Clark's military glory has set never more to rise ! ' ' There 
was,' says a contemporary historian, 'a meaning in this 
sentence which those who had fathomed Wilkinson knew 
how to interpret and appreciate.' But the malignant 
prophecy was fulfilled to the letter. Clark's military repu- 
tation suffered an eclipse from which it never emerged ; 
nor did he ever recover the personal popularity he had lost 
by this miserable affair, and henceforth lived neglected, not 
only by the nation to which he had rendered such inesti- 
mable services, but also by the State which may be said to 
have owed its very existence to him. For six years his 
acts had constituted almost the whole history of Kentucky 



CONQUEST OF THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. 89 

and the West. At the age of thirty-four he disappears so 
completely from that history that, during the thirty-two suc- 
ceeding years of his life, his name is to be found only upon 
one obscure page thereof" 

Theodore Roosevelt writes in his " The Winning of the 
West " of the collapse of the Kentucky movement against 
the Spaniards in Louisiana : " The whole movement col- 
lapsed when Genet was recalled early in .1794, Clark being 
forced at once to abandon his expedition. Clark found 
himself out of pocket as the result of what he had done ; 
and as there was no hope of reimbursing himself by Span- 
ish plunder, he sought to obtain from the French Govern- 
ment reimbursement for the expenses, forwarding to the 
French Assembly, through an agent in France, his bill for 
the 'Expenses of the Expedition ordered by Citizen Genet.' 
The agent answered that he would try to secure the pay- 
ment ; and after he got to Paris he first announced himself 
as hopeful ; but later he wrote that he had discovered that 
the French agents were really engaged in a dangerous 
conspiracy against the Western country, and finally had to 
admit that the claim was disallowed." 

Afflictions of rheumatism and paralysis closed Colonel 
Clark's life in 18 18, and he was buried at Locust Grove, 
near Louisville. The territory that Colonel Clark won by 
the capture of the British posts of Kaskaskia and Vin- 
cennes was organized by Virginia as the county of Illinois, 
and the historian Cone justly observes : 

" Had not this conquest of General Clark been made, 
the Alleghenies, or at best the Ohio river, would have been 
the western boundary of the United States, and there 
would then have been no inducement to effect the mag-nifi- 
cent purchase made by President Jefiferson of the French 
government, in 1802, nor should we have secured the sub- 



go CONQUEST OF THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. 

sequent addition of the grand stretch of country which ends 
only where the Pacific washes its border." 

Though the life of Colonel George Rogers Clark closed 
in poverty, and he was held to have been unsuccessful by 
the common-place estimates, he had served his country 
beyond all calculation, and will be more and more remem- 
bered and honored. He had done enough for immortality. 
His mistakes were for a day; his glory will endure forever. 



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CHAPTER VI. 

Jefferson's territorial enterprise. 

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark carry Westward the Course of Empire — 
Their Journey up the Missouri River — Their Passage through the Yellow- 
stone Region — On the Great Divide — Down the Columbia — Shooting the 
Rapids through the Dalles on to the Pacific. 

Very largely it was the conquest of the northwest by 
George Rogers Clark of Virginia and Kentucky that 
made the purchase of Louisiana so commanding a policy 
and magnificent a bargain ; and Clark saved the bulk of 
the continent by the capture of two petty military posts, 
thus gaining title to the vast territories north of the Ohio 
and east of the Mississippi, when even Franklin was ready 
to surrender it, as Canada was given up. President Jeffer- 
son, after the purchase of Louisiana and when Napoleon 
had spent the money to manufacture the superior muskets 
with which he equipped his army at Boulogne and won the 
victories of Austerlitz and Jena, devised and instructed the 
Lewis and Clark expedition, conferring the high historical 
distinction of leadership upon his friend and secretary, 
Meriwether Lewis. The object was to explore the Missouri 
river and find its sources in the Rocky Mountains, and 
beyond that to trace the grand river that flowed to the 
Pacific through the land of which Bryant wrote the famous 
line: 

" Where rolls the Oregon and hears no sound." 

This exploration was an enterprise that flashed from the 
brain of the far-sighted Jefferson, and served to guide and 
spread the Americanism of our nation to the summit of the 
Rockies and carry the march westward of our course of 

6 93 



94 JEJ-'J-ERSON-S TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE. 

empire to the Pacific. The voyages of Columbus, and 
the navigators Magellan and Captain Cook were hardly 
more adventurous, crossing the unknown Adantic and cir- 
cumnavigating the globe, in search of new worlds and 
remote archipelagoes, than the exploration of the Missouri 
and the Oregon by Lewis and Clark, through the trackless 
wilderness, swarming with savages, and stored with the 
riches of virLnn soil and forest and mountain mines, the 
inheritance of the children of the Republic. We quote 
an(.l summarize the features of the official report. The 
narrative is one of the indispensable threads that are the 
clues we must follow, to find the sources of our grandeur; 
and the secrets of our destiny were revealed, as Lewis and 
Clark ascended the river of North America that rivals the 
Nile in length and converted mystery into history. 

On the acquisition of Louisiana, in the year 1803, the 
attention of the government of the United States was early 
directed towards exploring and improving the new terri- 
tory. Accordingly, in the summer of the same year, an 
expedition was planned by President Jefferson, for the pur- 
pose of discovering the course and sources of the Missouri, 
and the most convenient water communication thence to 
the Pacific ocean. His private secretary, Captain Meri- 
wether Lewis, and Captain William Clark, both officers of 
the army of the United States, were associated in the com- 
mand of this enterprise. After receiving the requisite 
instructions, Captain Lewis left the seat of government, 
and, being joined by Captain Clark at Louisville, in Ken- 
tucky, proceeded to St. Louis, where they arrived in the 
month of December. Their original intention was to pass 
the winter at La Charette, the hiofhest settlement on the 
Missouri. But the Spanish commandant of the province, 
not having received an official account of its transfer to the 



JEFFERSON'S TERRFfORIAL ENTERPRISE. 95 

United States, was obliged, by the general policy of his 
government, to prevent strangers from passing through 
the Spanish territory. They, therefore, encamped at the 
mouth of the Wood river, on the eastern side of the 
Mississippi, out of his jurisdiction, where they passed 
the winter in disciplining the men, and making the nec- 
essary preparations for setting out early in the spring, 
before which the cession was officially announced. The 
party consisted of nine young men from Kentucky, four- 
teen soldiers of the United States army who volunteered 
their services, two French watermen, an interpreter and 
hunter, and a black servant belonging to Captain Clark — 
all these, except the last, were enlisted to serve as privates 
during the expedition, and three sergeants were appointed 
from amongst them by the captains. In addition to these 
were engaged a corporal and six soldiers, and nine water- 
men to accompany the expedition as far as the Mandan 
nation, in order to assist in carrying the stores, or repelling 
an attack, which was most to be apprehended between 
Wood river and that tribe. The necessary stores were 
subdivided into seven bales, and one box, containing a 
small portion of each article in case of accident. They 
consisted of a great variety of clothing, working utensils, 
locks, flints, powder, ball, and articles of the greatest use. 
To these were added fourteen bales and one box of Indian 
presents, distributed in the same manner, and composed of 
richly laced coats and other articles of dress, medals, flags, 
knives and tomahawks for the chiefs — ornaments of differ- 
ent kinds, particularly beads, looking-glasses, handker- 
chiefs, paints, and generally such articles as were deemed 
best calculated for the taste of the Indians. The party was 
to embark on board of three boats ; the first was a keel 
boat fifty- five feet long, drawing three feet of water, carry- 



g6 JEFFERSON'S TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE. 

ini^r one large square sail and twenty-two oars, a deck of 
ten feet in the bow and stern formed a forecastle and cabin, 
while the middle was covered by lockers, which might be 
raised so as to form a breastwork in case of attack. This 
was accompanied by two perioques or open boats, one of 
six, and the other of seven oars. Two horses were at the 
same time to be led along the banks of the river for the 
purpose of bringing home game, or hunting in case of 
scarcity. 

The report reads : "All the preparations being com- 
pleted, we left our encampment on Monday, May 14th, 
1804. This spot is at the mouth of the Wood river, a 
small stream which empties into the Mississippi, opposite 
to the entrance of the Missouri. It is situated in latitude 
38°, 55', 19" north, and longitude from Greenwich 89°, 57', 
45". On both sides of the Mississippi the land for two or 
three miles is rich and level, but gradually swells into a 
high, pleasant country, with less timber on the western than 
on the eastern side, but all susceptible of cultivation. The 
point which separates the two rivers on the north, extends 
for fifteen or twenty miles, the greater part of which is 
an open and level plain, in v/hich the people of the neigh- 
borhood cultivate what little grain they raise. Not being 
able to set sail before four o'clock, p.m., we did not make 
more than four miles, and encamped on the first island 
opposite a small creek, called Cold Water. 

"The next morning we set sail at five o'clock. At the 
distance of a few miles, we passed a remarkable large coal 
hill on the north side, called by the French, La Charbonniere, 
and remained at the town of St. Charles. 

" On the 2 2d we made about eighteen miles, passing sev- 
eral small farms on the bank of the river, a number of 
islands and a large creek on the south side, called Bon- 



JEFFERSON'S TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE. 97 

homme, or Goodman's river. A small number of emigrants 
from the United States have settled on the sides of this 
creek, which are very fertile. We also passed some high 
lands, and encamped, on the north side, near a small creek. 
Here we met with a camp of Kickapoo Indians who had 
left us at St. Charles, with a promise of procuring us some 
provisions by the time we overtook them. They now made 
us a present of four deer, and we gave them in return two 
quarts of whiskey. 

*' This tribe resides on the heads of the Kaskaskia and 
Illinois rivers, on the other side of the Mississippi, but oc- 
casionally hunt on the Missouri. 

"June 7th, we passed at four and a half miles Big Mani- 
tou creek, near which is a limestone rock inlaid with flint 
of various colors, and embellished, or at least covered, with 
uncouth paintings of animals and inscriptions. We landed 
to examine it, but found the place occupied by a nest of 
rattlesnakes, of which we killed three. We also examined 
some licks and springs of salt water, two or three miles up 
this creek. We then proceeded by some willow islands 
and encamped at the mouth of Good Woman river on the 
north. It is about thirty-five yards wide and said to be 
navigable for boats for several leagues. The hunters, who 
had hitherto given us only deer, brought in this evening 
three bears, and had seen some indication of buffalo. 

"On the morning of the 12th, we passed through diffi- 
cult places in the river, and reached Plum Creek on the 
south side. At one o'clock we met two rafts loaded, one 
with furs, the other with the tallow of buffalo ; they were 
from the Sioux nation, and on their way to St. Louis ; but 
we were fortunate enough to engage one of the party, a 
Mr. Durion, who had lived with that nation more than 
twenty years, and was high in their confidence, to accom- 



pS JEFFERSON'S TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE. 

pany us thither. On the 13th, we passed at between four 
and five miles, a bend of the river, and two creeks on the 
north, called Round Bend creeks. Between these two 
creeks is the prairie, in which once stood the ancient village 
of the Missouris. Of this village there remains no vestige, 
nor is there anything to recall this great and numerous 
nation, except a feeble remnant of about thirty families. 
They were driven from their original seats by the invasion 
of the Sauks and other Indians from the Mississippi, who 
destroyed, at this village, two hundred of them in one con- 
test ; the rest sought refuge near the Little Osage, on the 
other side of the river. The encroachment of the same 
enemies forced, about thirty years since, both these nations 
from the banks of the Missouri. A few retired with the 
Osage, and the remainder found an asylum on the river 
Platte, among the Ottoes, who are themselves declining. 
Opposite the plain there was an island and a French fort, 
but there is now no appearance of either, the successive 
inundations having washed them away, as the willow island 
which is in the situation described by Du Pratz, and is small 
and of recent formation. Five miles from this place is the 
mouth of the Grand River, where we encamped. This 
river follows a course nearly south or southeast, and is be- 
tween eighty and a hundred yards wide where it enters the 
Missouri, near a delightful and rich plain. A raccoon, a 
bear and some deer were obtained to-day." 

There is an enormous amount of detail in the report, for 
President Jefferson was a very determined man in his 
anxiety for exact and voluminous information. Reaching 
the Platte country, there was a halt to send a report to the 
President, and there is complaint of the scarcity of game, 
but " the hunters saw deer, turkeys and grouse ; we have 
also an abundance of ripe grapes; and one of our men 



JEFFERSON'S TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE. yj 

caught a white catfish, the eyes of which were small, and its 
tail resembling that of a dolphin. The present season is 
that in which the Indians go out into the prairies to hunt 
the buffalo ; but as we discovered some hunters' tracks, and 
observed the plains on fire in the direction of their villages, 
we hoped that they might have returned to gather the green 
corn, and therefore despatched two men to the Ottoes or 
Pawnee villages with a present of tobacco and an invitation 
to the chiefs to visit us." 

Then follows an account of the Indian villages and tribes, 
closing with this remark : " All these tribes live in villages 
and raise corn, but during the intervals of culture rove in 
the plains in quest of buffalo." As for the river, it was 
" much more crooked since we passed the River Platte, 
though generally speaking, not so rapid ; more of prairie, 
with less timber, and cottonwood in the low grounds, and 
oak, black walnut, hickory and elm." Some Ottoe and 
Missouri Indians came in with a Frenchman who " resided 
among them, and interpreted for us. Captain Lewis and 
Clark went out to meet them, and told them that we would 
hold a council in the morninor. In the meantime we sent 
them some roasted meat, pork, flour and meal ; in return 
for which they made us a present of watermelons. We 
learned that our man Liberte had set out from their camp 
a day before them ; we were in hopes that he had fatigued 
his horse or lost himself in the woods, and would soon 
return, but we never saw him again." 

A great deal of space is given the Indians, and in one 
case the red men were presented with " paint, garters, and 
cloth ornaments of dress ; and to this we added a canister 
of powder, a bottle of whiskey, and a few presents to the 
whole, which appeared to make them perfectly satisfied. 
The air-gun, too, was fired, and astonished them greatly. 



loo JEFFERSON'S TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE. 

The absent chief was an Ottoe, named Weahrushhah, 
which in Enghsh degenerates into Litde Thief." At a Sioux 
village the interpreter and a few others were met by a 
" committee " " with a buffalo robe, on which they desired 
to carry their visitors, an honor which they declined, in- 
forming- the Indians that they were not the commanders of 
die boats. As a great mark of respect, they were then 
presented witli a fat dog, already cooked, of which they 
partook heartily, and found it well flavored." At one of 
the Indian villages there was a dance, "and in the course 
of their amusement we threw among them some knives, 
tobacco, bells, tape, and binding, with which they were much 
pleased. Their musical instruments were the drum, and a 
sort of little bag made of buffalo hide, dressed white, with 
small shot or pebbles in it, and a bunch ot hair tied to it." 

The speeches of Indians at the councils are reported, 
and are of the usual Indian quality. In the tribe of the 
Yanktons what struck the explorers most was " an institu- 
tion peculiar to them, and to the Kite Indians, further to 
the westward, from whom it is said to have been copied. 
It is an association of the most active and brave young 
men, who are bound to each other by attachment, secured 
by a vow never to retreat before any danger, or give way 
to their enemies. In war they go forward without shelter- 
ing themselves behind trees, or aiding their natural valor 
by any artifice. This punctilious determination, not to be 
turned from their course, became heroic or ridiculous a 
short time since, when the Yanktons were crossing the 
Missouri on the ice. A hole lay immediately in their course, 
which might easily have been avoided by going round. 
This the foremost of the band disdained to do, but went 
straight forward and was lost. The others would have 
followed his example, but were forcibly prevented." 



JEFFERSON'S TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE. loi 

The Missouri river is the constant theme of elaborate 
observation and description. This is a touch : " As in 
every bend of the river, we again observe the red berries 
resemblinor currants." 

There was discovered a tribe of Indians called Ricaras, 
and " we were crratified at discoverino- that these Ricaras 
made no use of spirituous liquors of any kind, the example 
of the traders who bring it to them, so far from tempting, 
has in fact disgusted them. Supposing that it was as 
agreeable to them as to other Indians, we at first offered 
them whiskey ; but they refused it with this sensible re- 
mark, that they were surprised that their father should pre- 
sent to them a liquor which would make them fools. On 
another occasion they observed that no man could be their 
friend who tried to lead them into such follies." 

Passing Mandan villages, " the Indians flocked to the 
bank to see us as we passed, and they visited in great 
numbers the camp, where some of them remained all 
night," and the expedition received " several presents from 
the women, consisting of corn, boiled hominy, and garden 
stuffs: in our turn we gratified the wife of the great chief 
with a gift of a glazed earthen jar. Our hunter brought us 
two beaver." 

•' November 5th. The Indians are all out on their hunting 
parties : a camp of Mandans caught within two days one 
hundred goats a short distance below us ; their mode of 
hunting them is to form a large strong pen or fold, from 
which a fence made of bushes gradually widens on each 
side ; the animals are surrounded by the hunters and 
gendy driven toward this pen, in which they imperceptibly 
find themselves enclosed, and are then at the mercy of the 
hunters. 

"Thursday, 27th. Almost the whole of that vast tract of 



I02 JEFFERSONS TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE. 

country comprised between the Mississippi, the Red river 
of Lake Winnipeg, the Saskaskawan, and the Missouri, is 
loosely occupied by a great nation whose primitive name is 
Darcota, but who are called Sioux by the French, Sues by 
the English. 

"Tuesday, January i, 1805. The new year was welcomed 
by two shots from the swivel and a round of small arms. 
The party now consisted of thirty-two persons. Besides 
ourselves were Sergeants John Ordway, Nathaniel Pryor, 
and Patrick Gass ; the privates were William Bratton, John 
Colter, John Collins, Peter Cruzatte, Robert Frazier, Reu- 
ben Fields, Joseph Fields, George Gibson, Silas Good- 
rich, Hugh Hall, Thomas P. Howard, Baptiste Lapage, 
Francis Labiche, Hugh McNeal, John Potts, John Shields, 
George Shannon, John B. Thompson, William Werner, 
Alexander Willard, Richard Windsor, Joseph Whitehouse, 
Peter Wiser, and Captain Clark's black servant, York. 
The two interpreters were George Drewyer and Tousaint 
Chaboneau. All this party with the baggage was stowed in 
six small canoes and two large perioques. At the same time 
that we took our departure, our barge, manned with seven 
soldiers, two Frenchmen, and Mr. Gravelines as pilot, 
sailed for the United States loaded with our presents and 
dispatches. 

" Friday, April 26. We continued our voyage in the 
morning, and by twelve o'clock encamped at eight miles 
distance, at the junction of the Missouri and Yellowstone 
rivers ; where we were soon joined by Captain Lewis. 

"On leaving us yesterday he pursued his route along the 
foot of the hills, which he ascended at the distance of eight 
miles; from these wide plains, watered by the Missouri 
and the Yellowstone, spread themselves before the eye, 
occasionally varied with the wood of the banks, enlivened 



JEFFERSON'S TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE. 103 

by the irregular windings of the two rivers, and animated 
by vast herds of buffalo, deer, elk and antelope. Along 
the margin of the river grows the small-leafed willow; in 
the low grounds adjoining are scattered rosebushes three 
or four feet high, the redberry, serviceberry, and redwood. 
The higher plains are either immediately on the river, in 
which case they are generally timbered, and have an under- 
ofrowth like that of the low orounds, with the addition of 
the broad-leafed willow, gooseberry, chokecherry, purple 
currant, and honeysuckle." 

There is a charming description of the Yellowstone coun- 
try ; but of it there is complaint of the lack of timber. 

"The wild licorice is found in great abundance on these 
hills, as is also the white apple. As usual we are sur- 
rounded by buffalo, elk, common and black-tailed deer, 
beaver, antelopes, and wolves." 

A tributary stream is thus noted: "The water has a 
peculiar whiteness, such as might be produced by a table- 
spoonful of milk in a cup of tea, and this circumstance 
induced us t > call it Milk river. 

"June 13, 1805. They left their encampment at sun-rise, 
and ascending the river hills, went for six miles in a course 
generally southwest, over a country which, though more 
waving than that of yesterday, may still be considered 
level. At the extremity of this course they overlooked a 
most beautiful plain, where were infinitely more buffaloes 
than we had ever before seen at a single view. To the 
southwest arose from the plain two mountains of appear- 
ance like ramparts of high fortifications. They are square 
figures with sides rising perpendicularly to the height of 
two hundred and fifty feet, formed of yellow clay." 

The great falls of the Missouri are described in a few 
sentences: "For ninety or a hundred yards from the left 



104 



JEFFERSON'S TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE. 



cliff, the water falls in one smooth even sheet, over a pre- 
cipice of at least eighty feet. The remaining part of the 
river precipitates itself with a more rapid current, but 
beini-- received as it falls by the irregular and somewhat 
projecting rocks below, forms a splendid prospect of per- 
fectly white foam two hundred yards in length, and eighty 
in perpendicular elevation. 

"July 28, 1805. On examining the two streams it became 
difficult to decide which was the larger or real Missouri; 
they are each ninety yards wide, and so perfectly similar 
in character and appearance that they seem to have been 
formed in the same mould. We were therefore induced to 
discontinue the name of Missouri, and gave to the southwest 
branch the name of Jefferson, in honor of the President of 
the United States, and the projector of the enterprise, and 
called the middle branch Madison, after James Madison, 
secretary of state." 

The climax of the expedition was the discovery of the 
source of the Missouri and passing the dividing ridge, from 
which the water ran east and west, to the two oceans. 

"August 12, 1805. Captain Lewis wound along the foot 
of the mountains to the southwest, approaching obliquely 
the main stream he had left yesterday. Down this trail he 
now went towards the southw^est ; at the distance of five 
miles it crossed a large run or creek, which is a principal 
branch of the main stream into which it falls, just above the 
high cliffs or gates observed yesterday, and which they now 
saw below them ; here they halted and breakfasted on the 
last of the deer, keeping a small piece of pork in reserve 
Against accident ; they then crossed through the low bottom 
along the main stream near the foot of the mountains on 
their right. For the first five miles the valley continues 
toward the southwest from two to three miles in width ; 



JEFFERSON'S TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE. 105 

then the main stream, which has received two small branches 
from the left to the valley, turns abruptly to the west 
through a narrow bottom between the mountains. The 
trail was still plain, and as it led them directly on towards 
the mountain, the stream gradually became smaller, till after 
going two miles it had so greatly diminished in width that 
one of the men in a fit of enthusiasm, with one foot on each 
side of the river, thanked God that he had lived to bestride 
the Missouri. As they went along their hopes of seeing 
the waters of the Columbia arose almost to painful anxiety, 
when after four miles from the last abrupt turn of the river, 
they reached a small gap formed by the high mountains 
which recede on each side, leaving room for the Indian 
road. 

"■ From the foot of one of the lowest of these moun- 
tains, which rises with a gentle ascent of about half a mile, 
issues the remotest water of the Missouri. They had now 
reached the hidden source of that river, which had never 
yet been seen by civilized man ; and as they quenched their 
thirst at the chaste and icy fountain^ — as they sat down by 
the brink of that little rivulet, which yielded its distant and 
modest tribute to the parent oceaji, they felt themselves rewarded 
for all their labors and all their diffictdties. They left reluc- 
tantly this interesting spot, and pursuing the Indian road 
through the interval of the hills, arrived at the top of a ridge 
from which they saw high mou7ttains, partially covered with 
snow, still to the ivest of them. The ridge on which they 
stood formed the dividing line betiveen the waters of the At- 
lantic and Pacific oceans. They folloived a descent much 
steeper than that on the eastern side, and at the distance of 
three-quarters of a mile, reached a handsome bold creek of 
cold clear water running to the westzuard. They stopped to 
taste for the first time the waters of the Columbia; and after 



,o6 JEFFERSON'S TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE. 

a few minutes, followed the road across steep hills and low 
hollows, till they reached a spring on the side of the moun- 
tain ; here they found a sufficient quantity of dry willow 
brush for fuel, and therefore halted for the night ; and hav- 
ing killed nothing in the course of the day, supped on their 
last piece of pork, and trusted to fortune for some other 
food to mix with a little flour and parched meal, which was 
all that now remained of their provisions." 

On the Columbia, the report says : " We proceeded on 
in the boats, but as the river was very shallow and rapid, 
the navigation is extremelv difficult, and the men who are 
almost constantly in the water, are getting feeble and sore, 
and so much worn down by fatigue, that they are very 
anxious to commence traveling by land," 

"Saturday, November 2, 1805. We now examined the 
rapids below more particularly, and the danger appearing to 
be too great for the loaded canoes, all those who could 
not swim were sent with the baggage by land. The canoes 
then passed safely, and were reloaded ; at the foot of the 
rapid we took a meridian altitude of 59° 45' 45". Just as 
we were setting out seven squaws arrived across the port- 
age loaded with dried fish and bear grease, neatly packed 
in bundles, and soon after four Indians came down the 
rapid in a large canoe. The rapid which we have just 
passed is the last of all the descents of the Columbia, At 
this place the first tide-water commences, and the river in 
consequence widened. The hunters brought in two deer, 
a crane, some geese and ducks, and several brant, three of 
which were white, except a black part of the wing, and 
I much larger than the grey brant, which is itself a size 
beyond the duck, 

"Saturday, November i6th. The morning was clear and 
beautiful. We, therefore, put all our baggage to dry and 



JEFFERSON'S TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE. 107 

sent several of the party to hunt. Our camp is in full 
view of the ocean." 

'' Saturday, November 17th. A fair cool morning and 
easterly wind. The tide rises at this place eight feet 
six inches in height, and rolls over the beach in great 
waves. 



CHAPTER VII. 

TECUMSEH PLANS TO HALT EXPANSION. 

The Projected Confederacy of the Red Nations — The Measures adopted by 
Tecumseh's Brotlier, the Artful " Prophet," to Induce the Savages to Join 
the Confederacy — Tecumseh and the Prophet make Strategic Use of the 
Superstitious Trait in the Indian Character — The Death of Tecumseh as 
Rehited by Black Hawk. 

The most famous and respected of Indian chieftains in 
North America, if perhaps we except the heroic Mexican 
kings who were worthy the steel of Cortez, is Tecumseh. 
He was born in an Indian village in Ohio between the 
present cities of Dayton and Springfield, in the heart of 
the pleasant country between the head-waters of the Mad 
river and the little Miami. It is remarkable that a man of 
the dignified and charming character and grave profession 
of Judge Sherman, the father of the distinguished brothers, 
the General and the Statesman, should have named a son 
for an Indian, even if the red man was one of the foremost 
of the long list of Ohio men conspicuously placed in his- 
tory. Tecumseh began his career that is recorded in 
American annals, as an oro-anizer of tribes of his race to 
make a stand against the overwhelming advance of the 
white men, and he was aided by a brother almost as illus- 
trious as himself, the Prophet, who inspired the attack 
upon General William Henry Harrison, known as the bat- 
tle of Tippecanoe. It shows the scope of the conceptions 
of the brothers who were, in war and relioion, the leaders 
f)f their people, that while the Prophet was fighting Harri- 
son on the Wabash, Tecumseh was on a journey to the 
South, doing missionary work for war with the Creeks and 
1 08 




m 

D 
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W 
H 

O 

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W 
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TECUMSEH PLANS TO HAEl EXPANSION. m 

Other powerful tribes. It is tradition that Tecumseh blamed 
the Prophet for a premature outbreak which he believed 
caused the eventual failure of his thoughtfully projected 
and carefully prepared confederacy of the Red Nations. 
"Tecumseh's plan," Tuttle tells us in his " Border Wars 
of Two Nations," was to surprise and capture forts Detroit, 
Wayne, Chicago, St. Louis, Vincennes and the adjacent 
American posts and unite all the tribes east of the Missis- 
sippi. As early as 1807 the Shawnee chieftain and his 
brother were actively engaged in sending their deputies, 
with large presents and bloody war belts, to the most dis- 
tant nations, to persuade them to come into the league, 
"and when the comet appeared in 181 1 the Prophet art- 
fully turned it to account by practicing upon the supersti- 
tions of the savages." Early in May a special emissary was 
sent to the distant tribes of Lake Superior, and a grand 
council being there assembled by the deputy, "he told the 
Indians that he had been sent by the messenger and repre- 
sentative of the Great Spirit, and that he was commissioned 
to deliver to them a speech from the first man whom God 
had created, said to be in the Shawnees' country." He 
delivered the speech with which he was charged in these 
words : "I am the father of the English, and of the French, 
and of the Spaniards, and of the Indians. I created the 
first man who was the common father of all these people, 
as well as of ourselves, and it was through him, whom I 
have awakened from his long sleep, that I now address 
you. But the Americans I did not make. They are not 
my children, but the children of the evil spirit. They grew 
from the scum of the great water when it was troubled by 
the evil spirit and the froth was driven into the woods by a 
strong east wind. But I hate them. My children, you 
must not speak of this talk to the whites ; it must be hid- 
7 



,,j TECCMSEH PLANS TO HALT EXPANSION. 

den from them. 1 am now on the earth sent by the Great 
Spirit to instruct you that you may be taught. The bearer 
of this must point out to you the way to my wigwam. I 
could not come myself, L'Arbre Croche, because this 
world is changed from what it was. It is broken and leans 
down, and as it declines the Chippewas and all beyond 
will fall off and die. Therefore, you must come to me and 
be instructed. Those villages which do not listen to this 
talk will be cut off from the face of the earth." 

Such were the measures adopted by the artful Prophet 
to induce the savages to fall into the ranks of Tecumseh's 
army, antl they were in every respect successful. Thus did 
the cunning Shawnee chief carry his work forward. Be- 
fore the month of June, 1806, they had removed from 
Greenville to the banks of the Tippecanoe, a tributary of 
the Upper Wabash, where a tract of land had been granted 
them by the Pottawatomies and Kickapoos. In the follow- 
ing July, the Prophet sent a messenger to General Harrison, 
begging him not to believe the tale told by his enemies, 
and promising to visit him soon. In August he repaired to 
Post \'incennes, and by his fine talk convinced the gover- 
nor that he had no evil desit^^ns. 

Mr, Brown, in speaking of Chief Tecumseh and his 
brother, the Prophet, in his " History of Illinois," says : 
"Tecumseh entered upon the great work he contemplated 
in the year 1805 or 1806. He was then thirty-eight years 
of age. To unite the several Indian tribes, many of which 
were hostile to, and had often been at war with each other, 
in this great and important undertaking, prejudices were to 
to be overcome, their original manners and customs to be 
re-established, the use of ardent spirits to be abandoned, 
and all intercourse with the whites to be suspended. The task 
was herculean in its character, and beset with difficulties on 



TECUMSEH PLANS TO HALT EXPANSION. 113 

every side. Here was a field for the display of the highest 
moral and intellectual powers. He had already gained the 
reputation of a brave and sagacious warrior, and a cool- 
headed, upright, wise, and efficient counsellor. He was 
neither a war nor a peace chief, and yet he wielded the 
power and influence of both. The time having now ar- 
rived for action, and knowine full well that to win savag^e 
attention some bold and striking movement was necessary, 
he imparted his plan to his brother, the Prophet, who 
adroitly and without a moment's delay, prepared himself 
for the part he was appointed to play in this great drama 
of savage life. Tecumseh well knew that excessive super- 
stition was everywhere a prominent trait in the Indian 
character, and, therefore, with the skill of another Crom- 
well, brought superstition to his aid. Suddenly his brother 
began to dream dreams, and see visions ; he became after- 
ward an inspired prophet, favored with a divine commission 
from the Great Spirit — the power of life and death was 
placed in his hands — he was appointed agent for preserving 
the property and lands of the Indians, and of restoring 
them to their original happy condition. He thereupon 
commenced his sacred work. The public mind was aroused, 
unbelief gradually gave way, credulity and wild fanaticism 
began to spread its circles, widening and deepening, until 
the fame of the Prophet, and the divine character of his 
mission, had reached the frozen shores of the lakes and 
overran the broad plains which stretched far beyond ' the 
great Father of Waters.' Pilgrims from remote tribes 
sought with fear and trembling, the headquarters of the 
prophet and the sage. Proselytes were multiplied, and his 
followers increased beyond all former example. Even 
Tecumseh became a believer, and, seizing upon the golden 
opportunity, he mixed with the pilgrims, won them by his 



114 TECUMSEH PLANS TO HALT EXPANSLON. 

address, and, on their return, sent a knowledge of his plan 
of concert and union to the most distant tribes. The 
bodily and mental labors of Tecumseh next commenced. 
His life became one of ceaseless activity. He traveled, he 
argued, he commanded. His persuasive voice was one day 
listened to by the Wyandots, on the plains of Sandusky ; 
on the next his commands were issued on the banks of the 
Wabash. He was anon seen paddHng his canoe across the 
Mississippi, then boldly confronting the Governor of In- 
diana in the council houses at Vincennes. Now carrying 
his banner of union among the Creeks and Cherokees of 
the south, and from thence to the cold, inhospitable regions 
of the north, neither intoxicated by success nor discouraged 
by failure." 

The following article appeared in the Baltimore Ameri- 
can, soon after Black Hawk's death. The article was written 
by one acquainted with the circumstance. It gives an ac- 
count of the death of Tecumseh and many interesting points 
in the life of the Sac chief 

" During a residence of several years in what is now the 
territory of Iowa, I had many opportunities of seeing and 
conversing with this noted warrior, and often look back 
with feelings of great pleasure to the many tokens of good- 
will and friendship that he has frequently bestowed upon 
men. His lodge was always open to a stranger, and he 
was ever ready to share that with him which he might most 
want, either his furs and blankets for a couch, or his corn 
and venison for a repast. He always spoke in terms of 
high regard of the whites, saying that in war he fought like 
a brave man, but in peace he wished to forget that his hand 
had ever been raised against them. His career as a war- 
rior commenced at a very early age ; when he was but 
fourteen years old his father, Pawheese, led a war party 



TECUMSEH PLANS TO HALT EXPANSION. 



115 



against the Osages, in which expedition he accompanied 
him. They succeeded in reaching the village of Osages, 
which they attacked, and after a very severe encounter, 
they routed their enemies and burned their town. In this 
battle Black Hawk's father was killed, but he revenged his 
death by killing and scalping the Osage who had slain him. 
He was fond of recounting his earlier exploits, and often 
boasted of his beino- at the rigflit hand of Tecumseh, when 
the latter was killed at the battle of the Thames. His ac- 
count of the death of this distinguished warrior, was related 
to me by himself, during an evening that I spent in his lodge 
some winters ago. In the course of our talk, I asked him 
if he was with Tecumseh when he was killed. He replied : 
" ' I was, and I will now tell you all about it. Tecumseh, 
Shaubinne and Caldwell, two Pottawatomie chiefs, and my- 
self, were seated on a log near our camp-fire, filling our 
pipes for a smoke on the morning of the battle, when word 
came from the British general, that he wished to speak with 
Tecumseh. He went immediately, and after staying some 
time rejoined us, taking his seat without saying a word, 
when Caldwell, who was one of his favorites, observed to 
him, ' My father, what are we to do ? Shall we fight the 
Americans ? ' ' Yes, my son,' replied Tecumseh, ' we shall 
go i?ito their very smoke — but you are now wanted by the 
general. Go, my son, I never expect to see you again.' 
Shortly after this (continued Black Hawk), the Indian spies 
came in and gave word of the near approach of the Ameri- 
cans. Tecumseh immediately posted his men on the edge 
of a swamp, which flanked the British line, placing himself 
at their head. I was a little to his right, with a small party 
of Sacs. It was not long before the Americans made their 
appearance ; they did not perceive us at first, hid as we 
were by the undergrowth, but we soon let them know 



ii6 TECUMSEH PLANS '10 HALT EXPANSION. 

where we were by pouring in one or two volleys, as they 
were forming into line to oppose the British. They faltered 
a little, but very soon we perceived a large body of horse 
(Colonel Johnson's regiment of mounted Kentuckians), pre- 
paring to charge upon us in the swamp. They came bravely 
on, yet we never stirred until they were so close that we could 
see the Hints of their guns, when Tecumseh, springing to 
his feet, gave the Shawnee war cry, and discharged his rifle. 
This was the signal for us to commence the fight ; but it 
did not last long ; the Americans answered the shout, re- 
turning our fire, and at the first discharge of their guns, I 
saw Tecumseh stagger forward over a fallen tree near 
which he was standing, letting his rifle drop to his feet. As 
soon as the Indians discovered he was killed, a sudden fear 
came over them, and thinking that the Great Spirit was 
displeased, they fought no longer, and were quickly put to 
flight. That night we returned to bury our dead and search 
for the body of Tecumseh. He was found near where he 
had first fallen ; a bullet had struck him above the hip, 
and his skull had been broken by the butt end of the gun 
of some soldier, who had found him, perhaps, when life 
was not yet quite gone. With the exception of these wounds 
his body was untouched ; lying near him, however, was a 
large, fine-looking Pottawatomie, who had been killed, 
decked off in his plumes and war paint, whom the Ameri- 
cans no doubt had taken for Tecumseh ; for he was scalped, 
and every particle of skin flayed from his body. Tecumseh 
himself had no ornaments about his person save a British 
medal. During the night we buried our dead, and brought 
off the body of Tecumseh, although we were in sight of the 
fires of the American camp.' 

"This is somewhat different from the account which is 
commonly given of Tecumseh's death, yet I believe it to be 



TECUI\fSEH PLANS TO HALT EXPANSION. 



117 



true ; for after hearino- Black Hawk relate it, I heard it cor- 
roborated by one of the Pottawatomie chiefs, mentioned by 
him. I asked him if he had ever fought against the whites 
after the death of Tecumseh. He said not, that he returned 
home to his village on the Mississippi, at the mouth of Rock 
River, and there he remained until driven away by the 
whites in the year 1832. The wish to hold possession of 
this village was the cause of the war which he waged against 
the whites during that year. He told me that he never 
wished to fight ; that he was made to do so ; that the 
whites killed his warriors when they went with a white flag 
to beg a parley, and that after this was done he thought 
they intended to kill him at all events, and therefore he 
would die like a warrior. 

" In speaking of his defeat, he said it was what he 
expected ; that he did not mind it ; but what hurt him more 
than anything else was our Government degrading him in 
the eyes of his own people, and setting another chief 
(Keokuk) over him. This degradation he appeared to feel 
very sensibly. Still he continued to possess all his native 
pride. One instance that came under my observation, I 
recollect well, in which it was strongly displayed. He hap- 
pened to be in a small town in Iowa on the same day in 

which a party of dragoons, under Capt. , arrived, and 

in paying a visit to a friend with whom he always partook 
of a meal whenever he stopped at the village, he met with 
the captain, who had been invited to dine. Black Hawk 
remained, also expecting the usual invitation to stay and 
eat with them ; but when the dinner was ready the host took 
him aside and told him the captain, or rather the white 
man's chief, was to dine with him that day and he must wait 
until they had finished. The old chief's eye glistened with 
anger as he answered him, raising the forefinger of one 



ij8 TECUMSEH plans TO HA LI EXPANSION. 

hand to his breast, to represent the officer, 'I know the 
white man is a chief, but /,' elevating the finger of the 
other hand far above his head, ' was a chief and led my 
warriors to the fight long before his mother knew him. 
Yo2ir meat — yyiy dogs should not eat it T Saying this, he 
(gathered the folds of his blanket about him and stalked off 
as proudly as if he still walked over ground that he could 
call ' 7)iy own! " 

The testimony of Black Hawk as to the death of Tecum- 
seh is of the highest value, and his memory will be per- 
petuated by the fact that it was in an expedition to curb 
his ambition that Abraham Lincoln served as a volunteer 
soldier in the Black Hawk war. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE RACE FOR OREGON. 

Marcus Whitman Determines the Future Ownership of Oregon and Washington 
— England Through the Hudson Bay Company was His Keen Competi- 
tor — His Heroic Ride to the National Capitol to Save the Territory — 
His Manly Appeal to President Tyler and Secretary of State Daniel 
Webster — The Return with One Thousa-id Settlers, One Year After His 
Departure — Devastation During His Absence and His Massacre with 
His Wife and Many Others Four Years Later. 

Almost as strange a story as the conquest of Upper 

Louisiana by George Rogers Clark, is that of the saving 

of Oregon by Marcus Whitman, a missionary among the 

Indians. The ownership of Oregon was long unsettled 

between Great Britain and the United States, the former 

depending upon the Hudson Bay Company to secure the 

country, and the latter careless and unappreciative, largely 

indifferent because poorly informed. It was the current 

opinion that the fate of Oregon would be settled by what 

Stephen A. Douglas afterward called squatter sovereignty. 

That was the preponderance of the first settlers. In all 

probability, if it had not been for the intelligence, energy, 

hardihood and devotion of one man, Dr. Marcus Whitman, 

the land that is the foundation of the states of Oregon and 

Washington would have been a British possession, and the 

western growth of the United States halted on the Rocky 

Mountains. The history of the saving of Oregon has been 

written in clear and happy style by Dr. Oliver W. Nixon, 

of Chicago, whose labors have been so thorough and their 

result so positive, that Whitman's place among the heroes 

and martyrs will never be contested. He was martyr as 

119 



THE RACE FOR OREGON. 
1 20 

well as hero, for after lie had accomplished his ambition of 
Americanizing Oregon, he perished in a massacre by 
Indians. Dr. Nixon is the authority from which we quote 
the errand oudines of Whitman's career with the certainty 
of his accuracy : 

" Dr. Whitman was born at Rushville, New York, Sep- 
tember 4, 1804, and was thirty-three years old when he 
entered upon his work in Oregon. When first converted 
he resolved to study for the ministry, but a chain of cir- 
cumstances changed his plans, and he studied medicine. 
The early hardships and privations educated him into an 
admirable fitness for the chosen work of his life. 

" Picture that litde missionary band as they stood together 
at Fort Walla Walla in September, 1836, and consulted 
about the great problems to solve. It was all new. There 
were no precedents to guide them. They easily under- 
stood that the first thing to do was to consult the ruling 
powers of Oregon — the Hudson Bay Company officials at 
Fort Vancouver. This would require another journey of 
three hundred miles, but, as it could be made in boats, and 
the Indians were capital oarsmen, they resolved to take their 
wives with them, and thus complete the wedding journey. 

" The gallant Dr. McLoughlin, chief factor of the Hud- 
son Bay Company, was a keen judge of human nature, and 
read men and women as scholars read books, and he was 
captivated with the open, manly ways of Dr. Whitman, and 
the womanly accomplishments of the fair young wife, who 
had braved the perils of an overland journey with wholly 
unselfish purposes. Whitman soon developed to Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin all his plans and hopes. Perhaps there was a 
professional free masonry among the men that brought 
them closer together, but, by nature, they were both men 
endowed richly with the best manly characteristics. 



THE RACE FOR OREGON. ^21 

" Dr. McLoughlin resolved to do the best thing possible 
for them, while he still protected the interests of his great 
monopoly. Dr. Whitman's idea was to build one mission 
at the Dalles, so as to be convenient to shipping ; Mc- 
Loughlin at once saw that it would not do. He had already- 
pushed the Methodist mission far up the Willamette, out of 
the way of the fort and its work, and argued with Whit- 
man that it would be best for him to go to the Walla Walla 
country, three hundred miles away, and Spalding, one hun- 
dred and twenty-five miles farther on." 

The world loves a hero, and the pioneer history of our 
several States furnishes as interestino' characters as are 
anywhere recorded. In view of the facts and conditions 
already recited, the old missionaries were anxious and rest- 
less, and yet felt in a measure powerless to avert the dan- 
ger threatened. They believed that under the terms of the 
treaty of 1818, reaffirmed in 1828, whichever nationality 
settled and organized the territory, that nation would hold it. 

This was not directly afifirmed in the terms of that treaty, 
but was so interpreted by the Americans and English in 
Oregon, and was greatly strengthened by the fact that 
leading statesmen in Congress had for nearly half a century 
wholly neglected Oregon, and time and again gone upon 
record as declaring it worthless and undesirable. In their 
conferences the missionaries from time to time had gone 
over the whole question, and did everything in their power 
to encouraofe immio-ration. 

Their glowing accounts of the fertility of the soil, the 
balmy climate, the towering forests, the indications of rich- 
ness in minerals, had each year induced a limited number 
of more daring Americans to immigrate. 

In this work of the missionaries, Jason Lee, the chief of 
the Methodist missions, was, up to the date of the incident we 



J 22 THE RACE FOR OREGON. 

are about to narrate, the most successful of all. He was a 
man of great strength of character. Like Whitman, he was 
also a man of great physical strength, fearless, and, with it 
all, wise and brainy. No other man among the pioneers, 
for his untiring energy in courting immigration, can be so 
nearly classed with Whitman. 

They were all men who, though in Oregon to convert 
savages to Christianity, yet were intensely American. 
They thought it no abuse of their Christianity to carry the 
banner of the cross in one hand and the banner of their 
country in the other. Missionaries as they were, thou- 
sands of miles from home, neglected by the Government, 
yet the love of country seemed to shine with constantly- 
increasing lustre. 

In addition to the missionaries, at the time of which we 
write, there was quite a population of agriculturists and 
traders in the near vicinity of eacli mission. These heartily 
co-operated with the missionaries and shared their anxieties. 
In 1840-41 many of them met and canvassed the subject 
whether they should make an attempt to organize a govern- 
ment under the Stars and Stripes, but they easily saw that 
they were outnumbered by the English, who were already 
organized, and were the real autocrats of the country. 

So the time passed until the fall of 1842, when Elijah 
White, an Indian accent for the Government in the North- 
west, brought a party of Americans, men, women and 
children, numbering one hundred and twenty, safely through 
to Waiilatpui. In this company was a more than usually 
intelligent, well-informed Christian gentleman, destined to 
fill an important place in our story, General Amos L. Love- 
joy. He was thoroughly posted in national affairs, and 
gave Dr. Whitman his first intimation of the probability 
that the Ashburton treaty would likely come to a crisis 



THE RACE FOR OREGON. 



123 



before Congress adjourned in March, 1843. This related, 
as it was supposed, to the entire boundary between the 
United States and the Enghsh possessions. 

Whitman at once explained the situation to his wife 
and said that he felt impelled to go to Washington. She, 
as a missionary's wife, a courageous, true-hearted, patriotic 
woman, who loved and believed in her husband, at 
once consented. Under the rule the local members of the 
mission had to be consulted, and runners were at once 
despatched to the several stations, and all responded 
promptly, as the demand was for their immediate presence. 

Dr. Eells, one of the noblest of the old missionaries, 
writes an account of that conference, and it is all the more 
valuable from the fact that he was opposed to the enterprise. 

Dr. Eells says : " The purpose of Dr. Whitman was fixed. 
In his estimation the saving of Oregon to the United States 
was of paramount importance, and he would make the at- 
tempt to do so, even if he had to withdraw from the mission 
in order to accomplish his purpose. In reply to considera- 
tions intended to hold Dr. Whitman to his assigned work, 
he said, ' I am not expatriated by becoming a missionary.' " 

Dr. Spalding says: "Dr. Whitman's last remarks were, 
as he mounted his horse for the long journey : ' If the Board 
dismisses me, I will do what I can to save Oregon to the 
country. My life is of but little worth if I cannot save this 
country to the American people.' " 

The doctor set about his active preparations, arranging 
his outfit and seeing that everything was in order. The next 
day he had a call to see a sick man at old Fort Walla Walla, 
and as he needed many articles for his journey that could 
be had there, he went with this double purpose. He found 
at the fort a score or more of traders, clerks and the lead- 
ing men of the Hudson Bay Company, assembled there. 



THE RACE FOR Q REG ON. 

They were nearly all Englishmen, and the discussion soon 
turned upon the treaty, and the oudook, and, as might be 
inferred, was not cheering to Whitman. But his object 
was to gain informadon and not to argue. 

The dinner was soon announced, and the doctor sat 
down to a royal banquet with his jovial English friends. 
For no man was more highly esteemed by all, than was 
Whitman. The chief factor at Vancouver, McLoughlin, 
from the very outset of their acquaintance, took a liking to 
Doctor Whitman and his wife and in hundreds of cases 
showed them marked and fatherly kindnesses. 

But while the company were enjoying their repast, an 
express messenger of the company arrived from Fort 
Colville, three hundred and fifty miles up the Columbia, and 
electrified his audience by the announcement that a colony 
of one hundred and forty Englishmen and Canadians were 
on the road. 

In such a company it is easy to see such an announce- 
ment was exciting news. One young man threw his cap 
in the air and shouted, " Hurrah for Orecron — America is 
too late, we have got the country." 

On the morning of October 3, 1842, three days after the 
conference when the spirit was upon him, Whitman took 
such messages as were ready, and bidding a long good-bye 
to his wife and home, in company with a guide and three 
pack mules began that ever memorable journey — escorted 
for a long distance by many Cayuse braves. 

Dr. Barrows, in his volume " Oregon — the Struggle for 
Possession," says : " Upon the arrival of Dr. Whitman in 
St. Louis it was my good fortune that he should be quar- 
tered as a guest under the same roof and at the same table 
with me." Those interested in the news from the plains, 
the trappers and traders in furs and Indian goods, gathered 



THE RACE FOR OREGON. 125 

about him and beset him with a multitude of questions. 
Answering them courteously he in turn asked about Con- 
gress. Whether the Ashburton treaty had been concluded, 
and whether it covered the northwest territory ? The 
treaty he learned had been signed August 9th, long before 
he left Oregon, and had been confirmed by the Senate and 
signed by the President on November loth, while he was 
floundering in the snow upon the mountains. 

But the Oregon question was still open, and the question 
he was eager to have answered was " Is the Oregon ques- 
tion still pending, and can I get there before Congress 
adjourns ? " The river was frozen, and he had to depend 
upon the stage, and even from St. Louis a journey to 
Washington in mid-winter at that time, was no small matter. 
But to a man like Whitman with muscles trained, and a 
brain which never seemed to tire, it was counted as nothing. 

It will require no stretch of imagination in any intelligent 
reader to suppose, that a man who had undergone the 
hardships and perils he had, would be at a loss how to pre- 
sent his case in the most forcible and best possible method. 
He was an educated man, a profound thinker; and he knew 
every phase of the question he had to present, and no man 
of discernment could look into his honest eyes and upon 
his manly bearing, without acknowledging that they were 
in the presence of the very best specimen of American 
Christian manhood. 

Both President Tyler and Secretary of State, Daniel 
Webster speedily granted him an audience. Some time 
in the future some great artist will paint a picture of this 
historic event. The old pioneer, in his leather breeches 
and worn and torn fur garments, and with frozen limbs, 
just in from a thousand-mile ride, is a picture by himself, 
but standing in the presence of the President and his great 



J 26 THE RACE FOR OREGON. 

secretary, to plead for Oregon and the old flag-, the subject 
for a painter is second to none in American history. 

rVom the outset, and at every audience granted, Presi- 
dent 'lyler treated Dr. Whitman with the greatest defer- 
ence. He was a new character in the experience of both 
these polished and experienced politicians. Never before 
had they listened to a man who so eloquendy pleaded for 
the cause of his country, with no selfish aim in sight. He 
asked for no money, or bonds, or land, or office, or any- 
thing, except that w^hich would add to the nation's wealth, 
the glory and honor of the flag, and the benefit of the 
hardy pioneer of that far-off land, that the nation had, for 
more than a third of a century, w^holly neglected. It was a 
powerful appeal to the manly heart of President Tyler, and, 
as the facts show^ was not lost on Secretary Webster. 

All Dr. Whitman demanded w^as that if it were true, as 
asserted by Mr. Webster himself, in his instructions to 
Edward Everett in 1840, then minister to England, that 
"The ownership of Oregon is very likely to follow the 
greater settlement and the larger amount of population ; " 
then "All I ask is that you won't barter away Oregon, or 
allow English interference until I can land a band of stalwart 
American settlers across the plains, for this I will try to do." 

President Tyler promptly and positively stated, " Dr. 
Whitman, your long ride and frozen limbs speak for your 
courage and patriotism, your missionary credentials are good 
vouchers for your character." And he promptly granted 
his request. Such promise was all that Whitman required. 
He firmly believed, as all the pioneers of Oregon at that 
time believed, that the treaty of 1 8 1 8, while not saying any- 
thing in direct terms, that the nationality settling the country 
should hold it. vet that was the real meaning-. Both countries 
claimed the territory, and England w^ith the smallest right- 




PAUL JONES, OUR FIRST NAVAL HERO. 




IIERULS IN UUR NAVY UF THE PAST. 



THE RACE FOR OREGON. 



129 



ful claim had, through the Hudson Bay Company, been the 
supreme autocratic ruler for a full third of a century. 

He left Independence, Missouri, in the month of May, 
1843, with an emigrant train of about one thousand souls 
for Oregon. With his energy and knowledge of the 
country, he rendered them great assistance in fording 
the many and rapid streams they had to cross, and finding 
a wagon road through many of the narrow and rugged 
passes of the mountains. He arrived at Waiilatpui about 
one year from the time he left, to find his home sadly 
dilapidated and his flouring mill burned. The Indians 
were very hostile to the Doctor for leaving them, and 
without doubt, owing to his absence the seeds of assassina- 
tion were sown by those haughty Cayuse Indians which 
resulted in his and Mrs. Whitman's death, with many 
others, although it did not take place until four years later. 

The expedition of Lewis and Clark supplemented the 
achievement of George Rogers Clark, the friend of Jeffer- 
son, who had the expedition up the Missouri and down 
the Oregon organized by his private secretary ; and the 
journey of Whitman from Oregon to Washington was the 
continuation by a missionary of the military exploration 
undertaken under the auspices of Jefferson, the purchaser 
of the wonderful annex to the nation, Louisiana, that 
seemed boundless and unsearchable, as an ocean un- 
measured. The British policy was at first to limit our 
America to the strip between the Atlantic and the Alleghe- 
nies, and they had drawn that mountain line on us, but 
were bafiied by the hero Clark, and half a century later 
they attempted to bar, with the Rocky Mountain range, our 
march to the Pacific, and were discomfited by two journeys 
across the continent, one from the Potomac to the Colum- 
bia rivers, and the other from the Columbia to the Potomac. 
8 



CHAPTER IX. 

JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 

The British and Spanish at Pensacola — The Advance of the Great New Orleans 
Expedition — An Appeal to the People of Louisiana and Kentucky to 
Accept Spanish Liberty — The Story of Lafitte and his Refusal of British 
Gold — The Overture of the Battle of New Orleans and Jackson's Deal- 
ings with the Spaniards in Florida. 

In 1 8 14, in the latter days of August, the old Spanish 
town of Pensacola became lively. There was a British 
fleet in the harbor, and Parton says: "Arms and 
ammunition in great quantities were landed and being 
conveyed to the forts." A body of negro soldiers 
from the West Indies, in the British uniform, had 
come on shore, along with several companies of English 
troops. The forts were in course of repair ; from one of 
them floated the English flag in friendly conjunction with 
the standard of Spain. The commander of the English 
forces had taken up his residence with the Spanish gov- 
ernor. There was a swarm of Indians. The forces were 
the advance of the great expedition that was to capture 
and hold New Orleans, and if the English did not want it 
for themselves, to restore it to the Spanish, who claimed 
Napoleon had no tide to the Jefferson purchase. Lieut.- 
Col. Edward Nichols was the commander, and on his way 
from the Bahamas to Pensacola, he had touched at Havana, 
where the secret of his destination escaped, and was 
promptly conveyed to New Orleans. No sooner had he 
reached Pensacola than he published to his troops an 
Order of the Day, which in a few days appeared in the 
newspapers of New Orleans. The colonel had about 300 
•3° 



JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 13 ^ 

men, and addressed them as his majesty's forces at Pensa- 
cola. He said to his soldiers : 

" The people whom you are now to aid and assist have suffered robberies and 
murders committed on them by Americans. 

" The noble Spanish nation has grieved to see her territories insulted ; having 
been robbed and despoiled of a portion of them while she was overwhelmed 
with distress, and held down by the chains which a tyrant' had imposed on her, 
gloriously struggling for the greatest of all possible blessings (true liberty). 'Ihe 
treacherous Americans, who call themselves free, have attacked her, like assas- 
sins, while she was falling. But the day of retribution is fast approaching. 
These atrocities will excite horror in the heart of a British soldier, they will 
stimulate you to avenge them, and you will avenge them like British soldiers. 
Valor, then, and humanity ! " 

" Natives of Louisiana ! On you the first call is made to assist in liberating 
from a faithless, imbecile government, your paternal soil ! Spaniards, French- 
men, Italians and British, whether settled or residing for a time in Louisiana, on 
you. also, I call to aid me in this just cause ! The American usurpation of this 
country must be abolished, and the lawful owners of the soil put in possession. 
I am at the head of a large body of Indians, well armed, disciplined, and com- 
manded by British officers — a good train of artillery with every requisite, sec- 
onded by the powerful aid of a numerous British and Spanish squadron of ships 
and vessels of war. Be not alarmed, inhabitants of the country, at our ap- 
proach; the same good faith and disinterestedness which have distinguished 
the conduct of Britons in Europe, accompanies them here ; you will have no 
fear of litigious taxes imposed on you for the purpose of carrying on an unnat- 
ural and unjust war; your property, your laws, the peace and tranquility of 
your country, will be guaranteed to you by men who will suffer no infringement 
of theirs ; rest assured that these brave red men only burn with an ardent 
desire of satisfaction, for the wrongs they have suffered from the Americans, 
to join you in liberating these souther nprovinces from their yoke, and driving 
them into those limits formerly prescribed by my sovereign. 

" Inhabitants of Kentucky, you have too long borne with grievous imposi- 
tions. The whole brunt of the war has fallen on your brave sons; be imposed 
on no longer, but either range yourselves under the standard of your forefathers, 
or observe a strict neutrality ; if you comply with either of these offers, whatever 
provisions you send down, will be paid for in dollars, and the safety of the 
persons bringing them, as well as the free navigation of the Mississippi, guaran- 
teed to you. 

" Men of Kentucky, let me call to your view (and I trust to your abhorrence) 
the conduct of those factions which hurried you into this civil, unjust, and 
unnatural war, at a time when Great Britain was straining every nerve in 
defence of her own and the liberties of the world — when the bravest of her 
sons were fighting and bleeding in so sacred a cause — when she was spending 



132 JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 

millions of her treasure in endeavoring to pull down one of the most formid^ 
able and dangerous tyrants that ever disgraced the form of man— when groan- 
ing Europe was almost in her last gasp— when Britons alone showed an 
un'daunted front— basely did those assassins endeavor to stab her from the 
rear; she has turned on them, renovated from the bloody but successful 
struggle. Europe is happy and free, and she now hastens justly to avenge the 
unprovoked insult. Show them that you are not collectively unjust; leave 
that contemptible it.^ to shift for themselves, let those slaves of the tyrant send 
an embassy to Elba, and implore his aid ; but let every honest, upright Ameri- 
can spurn them with united contempt. After the experience of twenty-one 
years, can you any longer support those brawlers for liberty, who call it freedom 
when they themselves are free ? Be no longer their dupes— accept of my offers 
—everything I have promised in this paper I guarantee to you, on the sacred 
honor of a British officer." 

A body of seven hundred Indians was raised to aid in 
restoring Spanish liberty to the people of Louisiana, and to 
give the Kentuckians a chance to redeem themselves from 
the offence of being friends of Bonaparte. The real effect 
of the expedition was to obtain knowledge of the gulf ports, 
and they made the discovery of Barataria, a rendezvous not 
of pirates but of privateers, with Jean Lafitte, blacksmith, 
as chief. The British armed ship Sophia found the little 
harbor, and Lafitte, according to Barton's lively description : 

" Ordered out his boat and proceeded, rowed by four men, to the shallow 
strait that formed the entrance to the harbor; where he saw, not without aston- 
ishment, an armed vessel showing British colors. At the same moment, a 
boat, with a white signal flying from the bow, and the British flag from the stern, 
darted from the vessel's side and rapidly approached him. It contained three 
officers in British uniform, who proved to be Captain Lockyer, a lieutenant of 
the Sophia and a captain of the army. Upon coming up. Captain Lockyer 
called out his name and rank, and inquired if Mr. Lafitte was at home. Lafitte, 
puzzled at these proceedings, replied that that individual could be seen on shore 
at the settlement, and invited the officers to accompany him to Mr. Lafitte's 
quarters. On the way across the harbor, however, he announced himself as 
Jean Lafitte : whereupon Captain Lockyer handed him a package, directed to 
' Mr. Lafitte,' which Captain Lockyer stated was an important communication 
from the British government. Lafitte cautioned them to conceal their object 
from the men on shore. These lawless buccaneers, it may be remarked, besides 
being, in their way, loyal to the United States, had a lively recollection of a 
dash made upon their settlement by British ships at the beginning of the war, 



jACkSON AND THK SPAN/AUDS W FLOkWA. 13^ 

when some of their vessels had been captured, and some of their plunder ear- 
ned off. When, therefore, the uniform of the officers was recognized by the 
crowd on the beach, a tumult arose, and they clamored loudly for their seizure. 
" Lafitte contrived to pacify them for the moment, and conducted the officers 
to his quarters. Before proceeding to business, Lafitte, who was a man of su- 
perior address, and exceedingly polite, ordered a repast to be prepared for his 
guests. The costliest wines of Spain, the daintiest fruits of the West Indies, 
the fish and game of the neighborhood, were served to the astonished officers 
on the finest carved silver plate; and the urbane Lafitte presided at the feast 
with the courtly grace that belonged to the Frenchman of that day, whether 
peasant, privateersman, or noble. The banquet over, cigars were handed 
round, of a flavor which seldom regales the senses of people who obtain their 
cigars by the vulgar process of purcha^^e. While these were discussed, the 
polite and reticent Mr. Lafitte proceeded to open and examine the package 
addressed to him.'' 

Colonel Nichols called upon Lafitte and his "brave fol- 
lowers to enter the service of Great Britain and offered 
him the rank of a captain ; with lands to all of his people in 
proportion to their respective ranks." The first point the 
British hoped to make was the capture of Mobile. 

Captain Lockyer, the British officer in authority, offered 
Lafitte besides a captaincy in the British army, thirty thou- 
sand dollars in cash, payable at New Orleans or Pensacola. 
The war, said Lockyer, was about to be prosecuted with 
unusual vigor. The great expedition against New Orleans 
was already on its way. There could be no doubt of its 
success. Indeed, they expected to meet with scarcely any 
opposition in Louisiana, the people of which, being of differ- 
ent manners and temper from the Americans, would receive 
the expedition, he thought, with joy. As soon as the Eng- 
lish were in possession of New Orleans, they intended to 
effect a junction with the forces in Canada, when the United 
States would be at their mercy. From being proscribed 
and persecuted, his brother in prison and his establishment 
in danger, he had only to join the English, and give them 
the benefit of his intimate knowledge of the Gulf, and rank, 
fame and fortune were his own. 



134 



JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 



Lahtte asked for a fortnight's time, and immediately com- 
municated with the authorities of Louisiana, saying : " This 
point of Louisiana which I occupy is of great importance in 
the present crisis. I tender my services to defend it ; and 
the only reward I ask is that a stop be put to the proscrip- 
tion against me and my adherents, by an act of oblivion for 
all that has been done hitherto. I am the stray sheep wish- 
ing to return to the fold." Lafitte's story was not believed 
and his establishment w^as soon broken up by those he 
sought to serve, but when the people got hold of the facts 
they believed him, and he was one of the factors in saving 
New Orleans from the overwhelming invasion of Welling- 
ton's veterans who were beaten on Jackson's Day, January 
8. 1815. 

It was as the conqueror of the Creeks, the avenger of 
the Fort Mimms massacre, that Andrew Jackson first gained 
notoriety as a military chieftain, became "Old Hickory" and 
was prepared to become the hero of New Orleans. The 
British did not retire gracefully from the gulf coast after 
their failure with a great fleet and army to occupy and pos- 
sess Louisiana with the mouths of the Mississippi, and 
those who lingered, found themselves in queer associations 
in Florida, mingling with Spaniards, Seminoles and negroes, 
very few and independent, armed and organized as ma- 
rauders, with a fort containing a great deal of gunpowder 
and arms. The British, in the treaty of Ghent, sought to 
protect their Indian allies, and the provisions of the treaty 
were stretched to include officers, and that remarkable 
literary and military man. Col. Edward Nichols, who issued 
a proclamation to Kentuckians, reappeared. The Seminoles 
were his pets, and, as Parton describes him : " He went 
through the preposterous ceremony, in the spring of 181 5, 
of forming an alliance offensive and defensive between the 



JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 135 

Seminoles and Great Britain. He repaired and strength- 
ened a fort on the Appalachicola river, sixty miles below 
the junction of the Chattahoochie and Flint, which he 
styled the 'British Post on the Appalachicola,' and which 
afterwards acquired a sad celebrity as the ' Negro Fort.' 
These things he did entirely, it seems, on his own responsi- 
bility, and without condescending to pay the slightest 
regard to the authority of the Spanish governor." 

The Spanish and Seminoles and the negro bandits took 
kindly to Nichols, who thus addressed Col. Benjamin 

Hawkins : 

"British Post, Appalachicola River, May 12. 1815. 

'' In my letter to you of the 28th ult., I requested you would be so good as to 
make inquiry into the murder and robberies committed on the Seminoles be- 
longing to the chief called Bowlegs, at the same time declaring my determinadon 
of punishing with the utmost rigor of the law any one of our side who broke it." 

Nichols was for peace in his proclamations, but he con- 
tinued the letter to Colonel Hawkins : 

"Since the last complaint from Bowlegs. I have had another from him to 
say, your citizens have again attacked and murdered two of his people; that 
they had stolen a gang of his cattle, but that he had succeeded in regaining 
them. 

" I asked him what proof he had of their being killed. He said they had 
found their bloody clothes in the American camp, which was liastily evacuated 
on their approach. Now, sir, if these enormities are suffered to be carried on 
in a Chrisdan country, what are you to expect by showing such an example to 
the uncultivated native of the woods (for savage 1 will not call them, their con- 
duct entitles them to a better epithet) ? I have, however, ordered them to stand 
on the defensive, and have sent them a large supply of arms and ammunition, 
and told thetn to put to death, without mercy, any one molesting them ; but at 
all times to be careful and not to put a foot over the American line. In the 
meantime that I should complain to you ; that I was convinced you would do 
your best to curb such infamous conduct. Also that those people who have 
done such deeds would, I was convinced, be disavowed by the government of 
the United States and severely punished. They have given their consent to 
await your answer before they take revenge ; but, sir, they are impatient for it, 
and well armed as the nation now is, and stored with ammunition and provi- 
sions, having a stronghold to retire upon in case of a superior force appearing. 



,,(3 JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 

picture to yourself, sir, the miseries that may be suffered by good and innocent 
citizens on your frontiers, and I am sure that you will lend me your best aid in 
keeping the bad spirits in subjection. 

" Yesterday, in a full assembly of chiefs, I got them to pass a law for four 
resolute chiefs to be appointed in different parts of the nation, something in the 
character of our sheriffs, for the purpose of inflicting condign punishment on 
such people as broke the law, and I will say this much for them, that I never 
saw men execute laws better than they do. 

" I am also desired to say to you by the chiefs, that they do not find that 
your citizens are evacuating their lands, according to the ninth article of the 
treaty of peace, but that they were fresh provisioning the forts. This point, sir, 
I beg of you to look into. They also request me to inform you that they have 
signed a treaty of offensive and defensive allegiance with Great Britain, as well 
as one of commerce and navigation, which, as soon as it is ratified at home, 
you shall be made more fully acquainted with. 
" 1 am, sir, your very humble servant, 

Edward Nichols, 
Commanding his Britannic Majesty's forces in the Creek Nation. 

'Addressed 'On his Britannic Majesty's service, to Col. Benjamin Hawkins, 
commanding at Fort Hawkins.' " 

Colonel Nichols sailed for Enp-land after doine all die 
mischief he could, and proving that he knew as little of 
Indians as he did of Kentuckians, but he did not succeed 
in getting- the recognition he wanted. One of the savages 
with Nichols, was a red prophet named Francis, and he 
was presented, in consideration of his past services, 
with the commission and uniform of a brieadier eeneral, 
a gold-mounted tomahawk, a diamond snuff-box, and a 
sum of money. He was also admitted to an interview 
with the Prince Regent, who received him with an imposing 
show of ceremony. "A double flourish of trumpets," says a 
journal of the time, " announced the approach to the pres- 
ence of the Regent of • the patriot Francis, who fought so 
gloriously in our cause in America. He was dressed in a 
most splendid suit of red and gold, and by his side he wore 
the tomahawk mounted in eold.' " 

The swamps of Florida afforded refuge for many negro 



JACKSON AND THE SPANtAkDS IN FLORTDA. 137 

slaves, and their numbers were, in 181 6, estimated at 800. 
They had a chief, Garcon, and the fort erected by Colonel 
Nichols, on the Appalachicola, was their stronghold. Nich- 
ols thought he left the fort to the Seminoles, but they pre- 
ferred the woods. The fort was strong, mounted twelve 
cannon, and Nichols had been grood enough to leave the 
Indians 2500 muskets, the same number of sets of accoutre- 
ments, five hundred carbines, five hundred steel-scabbarded 
swords, four hundred pistols, three hundred quarter-casks 
of rifle powder, and seven hundred and sixty-three barrels 
of common powder. The arms were new and of excellent 
quality, and the greater part of them were still in the boxes 
and packing-cases in which they had been brought from 
Enorland. 

The negroes thoug-ht their fort a secure refucre. It 
placed them on a pedestal. About this fort Andrew Jack- 
son wrote a letter to the Spanish governor at Pensacola, 
who was supposed to control the territory where the fort 
was located. Jackson said he could not permit himself to 
indulge the belief, that " the governor of Pensacola, or the 
military commander at that place, will hesitate a moment 
in giving orders for this banditti to be dispersed, and the 
property of the citizens of the United States forthwith 
restored to them, and our friendly Indians particularly, 
when I reflect that the conduct of this banditti is such as 
will not be tolerated by our government, and if not put 
down by Spanish authority, will compel us, in self-defence, 
to destroy them. This communication is entrusted to 
Captain Amelung, of the first regiment of United States 
Infantry, who is charged to bring back such answer as you 
will be pleased to make to this letter. In your answer you 
will be pleased to state whether that fort has been built by 
the government of Spain, and whether those negroes who 



138 JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 

trarrison it are considered as subjects of his Cadiolic 
Majesty, and if not by his CatlioHc Majesty, by whom, and 
under whose orders it has been erected." 

The Spanish governor hoped in many words General 
Jackson would not consider himself bound to do anything 
in violation of the sovereignty of the king, his royal master. 
Having spread these sentiments over ten pages of foolscap, 
the sublime governor concluded by observing that he held 
the virtues and military talents of General Jackson in the 
highest possible esteem, and that he prayed God to pre- 
serve his excellency many years. 

The Spanish had not the force at Pensacola to fight the 
negroes with, and Jackson ascertaining that, wrote to the 
War Department that the Spanish authorities would not 
take it seriously amiss if the negro fort were destroyed 
by the forces under his own command, and he requested 
the orders of the President with regard to it. 

General Gaines, in the spring of 181 6, having Fort Scott 
to build at the junction of the Chattahoochie and Flint> at- 
tempted to navigate the Appalachicola. The negroes re- 
sisted the freedom and fired on a boat sent to ask informa- 
tion. The men were savagely massacred. Colonel Clinch, 
with two companies, dropped down the river and was 
joined by a party of Seminoles who had a way of seizing 
and selling fugitive slaves. There was at the same time 
an expedition ascending the river. During the first day of 
the investment, the Indians, during an interval of silence, 
demanded the surrender oi their fort. The negroes hooted 
derisively in reply, hoisted a red flag, and over it on the 
same staff the British union jack, and sent a thirty-two 
pound shot crashing into the forest again. On the ap- 
proach of Colonel Clinch, all the negroes in the vicinity had 
hurried into the fort for safety. The place contained, when 



JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 139 

it was Invested, one hundred men and two hundred and 
thirty-four women and children. There were two maga- 
zines within the fortification, one containing six hundred 
barrels of powder, and the other one hundred and sixty- 
three. The negroes fired artillery with great enthusiasm, but 
without effect except in smashing trees and scaring the In- 
dians. No impression was made on the fort until a heated 
cannon ball was fired with steady, accurate aim. It pene- 
trated the magazine, and the great store of powder ex- 
ploded. 

Of the three hundred and thirty-four inmates of the fort 
two hundred and seventy were killed instantly! The 
greater part of those who were taken out alive died soon 
after. Three men only crawled from the ruins uninjured, 
one of whom was Garcon, the commandant. 

The Indians, with that mingled meanness and ferocity 
which marks their conduct on such occasions, raised the 
untimely yell of triumph, and clambered up the bluff. The 
troops and the crews of the gun-boats, stunned and appalled 
for some moments by the explosion, soon followed. The 
gun-boat-men were concerned for the fate of the sailor 
Daniels, who had been taken prisoner by Garcon at the 
mouth of the river and conducted to the fort. Upon in- 
quiring of the survivors what had become of him, they as- 
certained that he had been tarred and burned alive. As a 
punishment for this savage act, Garcon and a Choctaw 
chief were delivered over to the Seminoles, who also 
carried off a large supply of British muskets, and other 
weapons, becoming very dangerous. 

The immense store of powder bestowed with diplomatic 
indirection by the British upon the free and independent 
negroes, who had a grand fort meant for Seminoles, who 
preferred larger liberties than those enjoyed in fortifications, 



I40 



JACKSON AND TME SPANIARDS tN PLORIDA. 



proved the destruction of the civiHzed community, and 
Andrew Jackson, general commanding, was reheved of all re- 
sponsibility for the escaped property in mass of the Southern 
farmers, and deprived of a promising opening for war with 
the Spaniards. The explosion of six hundred barrels of 
powder erased the black blot from the landscape, but the 
Seminoles carried off all the English muskets they wanted, 
and themselves became the disturbers of the peace, and 
the first of the several Seminole wars was soon under way 
and lingered like the hostilities of later days in Cuba. 

"On the 1 6th of January, 1818 [we quote from the 
'Life of Andrew Jackson,' by John Frost, 1847], the Secre- 
tary of War wrote General Gaines, informing him that the 
honor of the United States required that the war with the 
Seminoles should be terminated speedily, and with exem- 
plary punishment for hostilities so unprovoked ; and that 
orders were issued directing the war to be carried on within 
the limits of Florida, should it be necessary to its speedy 
and effectual termination. These orders, it was presumed, 
he had received. That as soon as it was known that he 
had repaired to Amelia island, in obedience to them, and 
it beinor uncertain how long; he mio-ht be detained there, 
the state of things at Fort Scott made it necessary to order 
General Jackson to take command there. From his known 
promptitude, it was presumable that his arrival might soon 
be expected. 

" A letter from the Secretary of War to General Jackson, 
dated January 29, 181 8, acknowledged the receipt of letters 
from him of the 12th and 13th of that month; and states 
that the measures he had taken to bring an efficient force 
into the fieid were approved ; and it concluded by express- 
ing a confident hope that a speedy and successful termina- 
tion of the Indian war would follow his exertions. 



JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 141 

"He crossed the Flint river on the loth of March and 
advanced with his army toward the mouth of the Appala- 
chicola. On the i6th he arrived at Prospect Bluff, the site 
of the Indian and negro fort which had been blown up by 
the fire of the American gunboats, in the month of July, 
1817. This Jackson ordered to be rebuilt, designing to 
use it as a depot for the provisions expected from New 
Orleans. He called it Fort Gadsden, in honor of one of 
his aids. General Gaines joined him in his march to the 
fort. 

" Having completed the necessary arrangements at Fort 
Gadsden, General Jackson started from that point on the 
26th of March, for the purpose of driving the enemy from 
the Mickasuky villages. When he had nearly reached 
these villages, on the ist of April, he was joined by the 
main body of the Tennessee volunteers, who, having heard 
of the starvinof condition of the garrisons stationed at Forts 
Gaines and Scott, had taken a circuitous route through 
Georgia, to obtain subsistence. As he approached the 
principal village his advanced guard had a smart conflict 
with a party of Indians, who fled as soon as the main body 
came up. When the army entered the towns they were 
found deserted by their inhabitants. The wigwams were 
burned, the adjacent country reconnoitred, and an abund- 
ant supply of corn and cattle obtained. In the council- 
house of the principal village, Jackson found more than 
fifty fresh scalps, and in the centre of the town, the old 
Red-stick standard stood crowned with the scalps, recog- 
nized by the hair as those torn from the heads of the unfor- 
tunate companions of Lieutenant Scott. 

" Hearing that a body of five hundred negroes and 
Indians had approached St, Mark's, and having been 
refused admittance, had demanded its surrender, and 



14-^ 



JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 



knowing the duplicity of Luengo, the governor, who now 
pretended friendship for the Americans, while a short time 
before he had, to the best of his ability, aided and protected 
their enemies, — knowing these things, General Jackson 
left Mcintosh with his warriors to scour the country in the 
neighborhood of Mickasuky village, and hastened to pre- 
vent the surrender of the strong post of St. Mark's to the 
enemies of the United States. From the moment that the 
Negro-Indian fort was destroyed, St. Mark's had become 
the depot and storehouse of the savages. 

" This post was now threatened by the hostile Indians 
and negroes, and the Spanish garrison was unable to defend 
it against them. It was, therefore, necessary to occupy it 
with an American garrison, to prevent it from falling into 
the hands of the Seminoles, who, uncontrolled by Spain, 
might issue forth at any time, murder the citizens of the 
United States, and, when closely pursued, fall back upon 
St. Mark's, their stronghold. Accordinj^ly, General Jack- 
son marched to that fort, took possession of it without 
the least resistance, and shipped the Spanish authorities 
and garrison to Pensacola. It was near St. Mark's that 
Alexander Arbuthnot was captured. 

" Arbuthnot's schooner was taken at the mouth of the 
Suwanee river and employed in transporting the sick and 
baggage of the army to St. Mark's. On the i8th, Robert 
C. Ambrister, late a lieutenant of marines in the British 
service under Nichols, was captured in the neighborhood 
of the villages. Ambrister was accused of leading and 
inciting the Indians to make war on the Americans, and 
was detained a close prisoner until the general found an 
opportunity to examine the evidence on which the accusa- 
tion rested. 

"On the next day (22d) he convened a special court for 



JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 143 

the purpose of investigating- the charges exhibited against 
Alexander Arbuthnot and Robert C. Ambrister; with in- 
structions to record all the documents and testimony of 
the several cases, and give their opinion as to the guilt or 
innocence of the prisoners, and what punishment (if any) 
should be inflicted. This court of inquiry was composed 
of Major-General Gaines, president, three colonels, three 
lieutenant-colonels, four majors, two captains and a lieu- 
tenant. 

" The court of inquiry found Arbuthnot guilty of exciting 
and stirring up the Creek Indians to war against the United 
States and her citizens, he being a subject of Great Britain, 
with whom the United States were at peace ; and of aiding, 
abetting and comforting the enemy, and supplying them 
with the means of war. They accordingly sentenced him 
to be suspended by the neck until he was dead. 

" They also found Ambrister guilty of aiding, abetting, 
and comforting the enemy, and supplying them with the 
means of war, he being a subject of Great Britain, who 
were at peace with the United States, and late an officer in 
the British colonial marines, and also of leading and com- 
manding the lower Creek Indians, in carrying on a war 
against the United States. They, therefore, sentenced him 
to suffer death by being shot. The members of the court 
requested a reconsideration of the vote on this sentence ; 
and, it being had, they sentenced him to receive fifty stripes 
on the bare back, and to be confined with a ball and chain, 
at hard labor, for twelve months." 

This, not being a court martial, had no authority to pro- 
nounce sentence upon the prisoners ; but as a special court, 
or a court of inquiry into the circumstance of the case, to 
advise the commanding-general, in such cases as he might 
require their opinion. Accordingly, General Jackson ap- 



144 JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 

proved the sentence of the court with regard to Alexander 
Arbuthnot, and he was hung on the 29th of April. He 
also approved the first sentence of the court in the case of 
Robert C. Ambrister, and disapproved its reconsideration. 
In passing final sentence upon Ambrister, the general re- 
marked : " It appears from the evidence and pleading of 
the prisoner, that he, being a subject of Great Britain, did 
lead and command, within the territory of Spain, the In- 
dians in a war against the United States, those nations 
being at peace. It is an established principle of the law of 
nations, that any individual of a nation making war against 
the citizens of any other nation, they being at peace, for- 
feits his allegiance, and becomes an outlaw and pirate. This 
is the case of Robert C. Ambrister, clearly shown by the 
evidence adduced." He was accordingly shot on the same 
day that Arbuthnot was executed. 

On the 5th day of May he wrote to the Secretary of 
War from Fort Gadsden, and gave him a detailed account 
of his operations in the war, and also informed him of the 
execution of Arbuthnot and Ambrister. In this dispatch 
he says: "I hope the execution of these two unprincipled 
villains will prove an awful example to the world, and con- 
vince the government of Great Britain, as well as her 
subjects, that certain, if slow, retribution awaits those un- 
christian wretches, who, by false promises, delude and 
excite an Indian tribe to all the horrid deeds of savage 
war." 

It was in this campaign, "away down on the Suwanee 
river," that the ill-fated Arbuthnot had a trading post, and 
a letter of his to his son warned the Indians Jackson was 
after, to get across " The River of the Song." Mr. Graham 
Sumner says in his "American Statesmen : " "Their escape 
enraged Jackson. He had already regarded Arbuthnot as 




THE "CONSTITUTION" AND " GUERRIERE." 



JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 147 

one of the British emissaries. He now considered Arbuth- 
not's letter an overt act of interference in the war. The 
town was burned by Jackson," 

Mr. Graham Sumner evidently regards General Jackson 
as having been an arbitrary "American statesman." He 
says with great simplicity of the General, " It was as a 
mere incident of his homeward march that Jackson turned 
aside and captured Pensacola, May 24, 181 8, because he 
was told that some Indians had taken refuge there. He 
deposed the Spanish government, set up a new one, and 
established a orarrison. He then continued his march 
homewards." But the close of this record is, ^' General 
Jackson had, in five months, broken the Indian power, 
established peace on the border, and substantially con- 
quered Florida." 

Frost says : " Robert C. Ambrister had formerly borne a 
lieutenant's commission in the British service, under Nich- 
ols and Woodbine, and had remained in the Floridas as a 
kind of successor and agent to them. He had resided a con- 
siderable time at Suwanee, and pursued the same general 
system of measures in relation to the negroes and Indians 
as Arbuthnot had done ; though not to the same extent, or 
in concert with him. When the alarm was given of the 
approach of the American troops, he put himself at the head 
of what Indians and negroes he could rally, broke open 
Arbuthnot's store, and distributed its contents, among which 
were some powder and ball, to his followers, and attempted 
to organize a party to go out and fight the Americans." 

It was on the loth of May, that General Jackson, having 
smitten the Seminoles, hanged Arbuthnot, shot Ambris- 
ter, and restored tranquillity, except where the Spaniards 
were in authority, arrived at Escambria, near Pensacola, 
with twelve hundred men. He notified the governor of his 



i^S JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 

approach, who, in answer, ordered him to retire from 
Florida ; and if he did not, that he would use force to repel 
him. Frost says, "The governor of Pensacola did not 
apply force to prevent Nichols from occupying his town ; 
he did not use force to prevent Indians and negroes, hostile 
to the United States, from entering Pensacola. The General, 
hearing that some hostile Indians had received provisions 
in Pensacola, and had escaped across the bay, disregarded 
the remonstrance of the Spanish governor, and determined 
to take the town. His obligations to the United States 
compelled him to do so. Spain was expressly obliged, by 
treaty, to restrain, by force, the Indians within her territory 
from committing hostilities against the United States. The 
Spanish officers commanding In Florida did not restrain 
the Indians from war, but aided and abetted them in It; It 
then became the duty of Spain to have displaced and 
superseded those officers, and to have confided to others the 
command of Florida, who would have preserved the neutral 
character of that territory. Spain did not displace or 
supersede them. In order, therefore, to prevent the per- 
petration of future atrocities by Indians, .negroes, and 
foreign emissaries and impostors, it became necessary to 
occupy St. Mark's, Pensacola and the Barrancas, with de- 
tachments of troops from the United States, who would 
defend these fortresses, not from the lawful authority of 
Spain, but from unlawful seizure and occupation by enemies 
of the United States, consisting of Indians, negroes, and 
the villains from other countries, who were stimulating 
these savages to every species of barbarous w^arfare on 
our e.xposed frontier." 

On the 24th, General Jackson, at the head of twelve 
hundred men. in the language of President McKInley, in 
his first annual message, regarding Spanish insults in Cuba, 



JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 149 

"intervened with force" to remove the Spaniards from 
Florida. Jackson advanced against Pensacola, captured the 
town, besieged and took the fortress of Barrancas, at 
the entrance, to the bay, sent the Spanish authorities to 
Havana, and the government of the United States extended 
her authority over the captured posts, until they should be 
restored by proper representation to Spain. 

General Jackson then scoured the whole territory in 
search of the fugitives, and having made every necessary 
arrangement for the security of the settlers, discharged his 
Tennessee volunteers, left General Gaines in command, 
and returned to the Hermitage near Nashville. Three 
months afterwards, St. Augustine, the only remaining 
Spanish fortress in Florida, was captured by General 
Gaines, in obedience to General Jackson's orders, and the 
whole province was thus brought into the military pos- 
session of the United States. 

It was decided that the Spanish posts taken by Jackson 
should be restored and Jackson was threatened mildly with 
a court martial, for his impetuous executive ability. In a 
letter to the Secretary of War, June 2, 1818, Jackson said : 
" The Seminole war may now be considered at a close ; 
tranquillity is again restored to the southern frontier of the 
United States, and as long as a cordon of military posts is 
maintained alono^ the Gulf of Mexico, America has nothinor 
to apprehend from either foreign or Indian hostilities. 
The immutable principles of self defence justified the occu- 
pancy of the Floridas, and the same principles will warrant 
the American government in holding it, until such time as 
Spain can guaranty, by an adequate military force, the 
maintaining of her authority within the colony." 

Jackson returned to Nashville and resigned his com- 
mission in the army. The Spaniards in Florida never re- 



I50 JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 

covered from the shock he gave them, and they did not 
feel that the honor of their arms demanded they should 
expend their resources in men and money to retain that 
peninsula. It would have been well if their practical wis- 
dom had asserted itself in the case of Cuba. The Seminole 
and Spanish campaign of Jackson, three years after his 
victory at New Orleans, was a fitting appendix to the tri- 
umphant defence of the mouth of the Mississippi river. 

The war, though not one of the big wars that make am- 
bition virtue, is worthy to be celebrated as one of the 
strokes of enterprising daring and good fortune, that have 
rounded out our country, tracing her boundaries by the 
great lakes and the Gulf that is the American Mediter- 
ranean, and along the surf of the two great oceans of the 
Globe pulsating on our shores. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 

Texas Early Known as the " New Philippines " — The Revolutionary Movement oJ 
Aaron Burr — Establishing Boundary Lines — American Emigration into Texas 
the Cause of her Independence — Hatred Between the Americans and Mexicans 
Leads to Continued Bloodshed and Massacre — General Samuel Houston the 
Liberator of Texas — The American Battle-cry, "Remember the Alamo" — 
Texas Becomes a State of the Union. 

The early history of Texas furnishes an interesting coin- 
cidence in connection with our present occupation of the 
Phihppine Islands, as the early Spanish settlers of the Do- 
minion of Texas originally called that country "The New 
Philippines." That was in 171 5. After the cession of the 
Province of Louisiana to the United States by France, in 
1803, a controversy arose about its western boundary, 
which was temporarily settled, in 1806, by General Wilkin- 
son and the Spanish Governor establishing a territory be- 
tween the Sabine River and Arroya Honda as neutral 
ground. 

Aaron Burr, whose term of office as Vice-President of 
the United States had expired in March, 1805, inaugurated 
a movement which seemed to have a twofold character : 
the conquest of Mexico from the Spaniards and the es- 
tablishment of an independent monarchy, revolutionizing 
the Mississippi Valley, separating that region from the rest 
of the United States, and forming an independent republic, 
with its seat of grovernment at New Orleans. If the first- 
mentioned scheme should be carried out. Burr aspired to 
be king ; if the latter, he was to be president of his new 

republic. 

151 



,-■; THE ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 

While engrafted In this mysterious conspiracy he tried to 
enlist the sympathies and co-operation of all the leading 
malcontents in the country. Among these was General 
William Eaton, who had returned from the Barbary States, 
angry with his Government for having been recalled while 
at the height of a successful expedition against the Med- 
iterranean pirates which he had inaugurated. 

Burr informed General Eaton of his expedition against 
Mexico, and, under the impression that it was secretly 
countenanced by the National Government, Eaton agreed 
to join him. Thinking to have gained the complete confi- 
dence of Eaton, Burr told him of his true project, assuring 
him that Wilkinson, commander-in-chief of the United 
States army, was engaged in the enterprise, and would 
doubtless be able to carry with him the regular troops in 
the Mississippi Valley; and, further, that if he could secure 
the marine corps, the only troops stationed at Washington, 
and gain over the naval commanders. Truxton, Premble, 
Decatur, and others, he would turn Congress out of doors, 
assassinate the President, seize the Treasury, and declare 
himself the Protector of his newly established empire. 

Eaton, satisfied that Burr was a dangerous man, waited 
on the President and informed him of the conspiracy. 
Thomas Jefferson, knowing that he could count on the 
loyalty of the western setders, did not take the matter 
seriously. 

Burr had secured the promise of the co-operadon of the 
English forces in the West Indies. He succeeded in cre- 
ating the impression, among the people throughout the 
country, that he was engaged in a scheme for revolutioniz- 
mg Mexico, an idea that was agreeable to the western 
people on account of the existing difficulties with Spain. 
It was also made to appear that the scheme was secredy 



THE ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 153 

favored by the Government. Under this impression Burr's 
project received the countenance of several leading men in 
the western country. Volunteers v^^ere rapidly enlisting, 
gunboats were being built, and other preparations were 
being speedily completed. 

Meanwhile Wilkinson was on the frontier of Louisiana 
guarding the country against the Spanish marauders, and 
while in camp there a young man arrived with a letter of 
introduction from Jonathan Dayton, of New Jersey, to Col. 
Gushing, the senior officer next to Wilkinson. He also 
conveyed a secret message to Wilkinson from Burr, which 
was a formal letter of introduction and contained a letter 
from Burr written in cipher. Gircumstances seemed to 
show, at that time, that Wilkinson was engaged with Burr 
in the conspiracy. 

The cipher letter informed Wilkinson that Burr had ar- 
ranged for troops under different pretexts at different 
points. He would rendezvous on the Ohio by the first of 
November and that the protection of England had been 
secured ; that Truxton had gone to Jamaica to arrange 
with the English admiral ; that the English fleet would 
meet on the Mississippi ; that the navy of the United 
States was ready to join ; that final orders had been given 
to his friends and followers, and that Wilkinson would be 
second to Burr only. The people of the country to which 
they were going were ready to receive them, and that their 
agent with Burr had stated that if protected in their religion, 
and not subjected to foreign government, all would be set- 
tled in three weeks. Enclosed in the same packet was also 
a letter in cipher from Jonathan Dayton, telling Wilkinson 
he would surely be displaced by the next Gongress, and 
adding : 

" You are not a man to despise, or even despond, es- 



1-4 THE ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 

pecially when such prospects offer in another quarter. 
Are you ready? Are your numerous associates ready? 
Wealth and glory ! Louisiana and Mexico ! Dayton." 

The correspondence in cipher and otherwise between 
Wilkinson and Burr led to the conclusion that the former 
was, at that time, engaged in the conspiracy, and that Burr 
relied upon him. 

Intimations of a design to seize the newly acquired ter- 
ritory startled Wilkinson and he resolved to defend the 
country against any schemes of conquest which Burr 
might attempt. 

Wilkinson, like Eaton, had supposed that the movement 
was against Mexico and not against the United States. He 
was, however, suspected of complicity by his Government, 
and when Aaron Burr was arrested for high-treason, Wil- 
kinson was court-martialed but honorably acquitted. 

General Jackson, who had favored Burr's schemes so 
long as they looked only toward a seizure of Spanish prov- 
inces, alarmed by evidence that he had wicked designs 
against the Union, wrote to Governor Claiborne warning 
him of the designs of Burr, and also cautioning him to keep 
an eye on W^ilkinson, under the impression that he, too, 
was associated with Burr. He wrote, under date of No- 
vember 12, 1806: "I hate the Dons. I would delight to 
see Mexico reduced, but I would die in the lowest ditch be- 
fore I would see the Union disunited." 

Burr was being watched and was finally arrested, but no 
evidence could be found against him, yet his scheming con- 
tinued. His influence, however, began to diminish among 
the western people, after his schemes were laid bare, and 
soon a reward was offered for his capture. He was arrested 
February 19, 1807, and an indictment for high-treason was 
found against him by a grand jury for the District of Vir- 



THE ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 



155 



ginia. He was also charged with conspiring to overthrow 
the National authority in the Western States and Territories. 
Again the evidence was such that a conviction was impos- 
sible and he was acquitted. 

Soon after, accordino- to the historian Lossirte, throutdi 
the invasion of Texas by the Americans, trouble began in 
Louisiana and Texas, and many skirmishes and battles oc- 
curred. This state of affairs continued for years, and in 
1813 the Spanish lost, in one of these conflicts, over 1,000 
men. In the same year a force of 2,500 Americans and re- 
volted Mexicans were almost totally destroyed, and over 
seven hundred of the inhabitants of San Antonio were 
massacred. 

After the war of 181 2-1 5, Captain La Fitte. the pirate, 
made the present site of Galveston his headquarters, re- 
maining there until 182 1, when his outlaw settlement was 
broken up by the United States authorities. The whole 
territory was in a state of lawlessness and a menace to the 
Union, requiring continual watching. 

In 181 9 the Sabine River was established as the eastern 
boundary of Texas, but dissatisfaction caused disturbances 
to continue and the territory of Texas was almost deserted. 

In 1820, Moses Austin, an American citizen from Mis- 
souri, received, from the Spanish authorities of Mexico, a 
grant of land in Texas. This w^as transferred to his son, 
Stephen F. Austin, in 1823 at the death of his father. He 
induced emigrants from the United States to settle in 
Texas and soon more than a thousand families had made 
that country their home. These early colonists were se- 
verely oppressed by the Spanish authorities, and in 1830 
the government forbade any more Americans coming into 
the territory. In 1833, when they numbered more than 
20,000 settlers, a convention was held and measures taken 



1-6 THE ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 

to obtain the independence of Texas. On the 12th of 
November, 1835, Texas organized a provisional government 
and chose Henry Smith Provisional Governor. A commit- 
tee of safety was established, and armed resistance against 
the government of Mexico commenced. San Antonio de 
Bexar was taken by the insurgents, »under Samuel Houston, 
who was commander-in-chief. 

By the victory of San Antonio, the Mexican forces were 
driven out of Texas, and on the 20th of December, 1835, a 
Declaration of Independence w^as issued. Soon after Santa 
Anna with 7,500 men, provided with artillery, ammunition, 
and stores, set out for Texas, and in February, 1836, invested 
the Alamo, a strong fortress near San Antonio. This was 
carried by storm, after eleven days' bombardment, and the 
entire garrison w^as butchered. The brave and daring 
David Crockett, of Tennessee, was one of the victims of 
this massacre. 

The United States offered, repeatedly, to purchase the 
territory, but Mexico refused to sell, and Santa Anna was 
sent to bring the Texans to obedience. 

From that time the war-cry of the Texans was " Re- 
member the Alamo." 

A convention assembled in March, 1836. and issued 
another Declaration of Independence, adopted a consti- 
tution, and made David G. Burnet Provisional President of 
the declared Republic of Texas. The constitution was 
signed March 17th. 

Hostilities continued, and on the 27th Col. Fanning's 
command was captured at Goliad, and, in violation of the 
terms of surrender, was massacred. 

Houston fell back before the advance of the Mexican 
troops in order to scatter them, and on the San Jacinto he 
gave batth-, completely routing them and capturing Santa 



THE ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 157 

Anna, who commanded in person. This ended the war 
and estabHshed die independence of Texas. 

General Houston was elected President, September, 1836, 
and the first Congress assembled in October. The inde- 
pendence of Te.xas was acknowledged by the United States 
in March, 1837. 

The people of the Southern States were all decidedly in 
favor of the annexation of Texas, and the same feeling also 
prevailed throughout that sovereign State. The proposition 
was, however, opposed by the people of the North, because 
annexation would increase the area of the slave-power and 
lead to a war with Mexico. 

President Tyler, however, made propositions to the 
President of Texas for its annexation to the United States, 
and a treaty to that effect was signed at Washington, April 
12, 1844, by Mr. Calhoun, Secretary of State, and Messrs. 
Van Zandt and Henderson on the part of Texas. 

This measure was rejected by the Senate in June follow- 
ing. The project was, however, again presented at the 
next session of Congress, in the form of a joint resolution. 
It had been made a leading political issue in the presidential 
campaign of 1844. James K. Polk had been nominated 
over Mr. Van Buren, because he was in favor of annexation. 
The joint resolution was adopted March i, 1S45, and re- 
ceived the assent of President Tyler the next day. On the 
last day of his term of office he sent a message to the 
Government of Texas, with a copy of the joint resolutions 
of Congress in favor of annexation. These were laid be- 
fore a convention assembled in Texas for the purpose of 
forming a State constitution. That body approved the 
measure July 4, 1845, ^'^"^ Texas joined the Union. 

Knowing the war-like determination of Mexico, the au- 
thorities of Texas sent an urgent request to the President 



1^8 THE ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 

of the United States to dispatch an army for their protec- 
tion. Accordingly General Zachary Taylor was ordered to 
march from Camp Jessup, in Western Louisiana, and occupy 
Texas. 

The bill for the annexation of Texas to the United States 
was signed by the President, March i, 1845, ^"<^ ^ ^^^^' <^^ys 
later. General Almonte, Mexican Minister to the United 
States, closed his diplomatic relations with our Government 
and left the city of Washington, The Mexican Govern- 
ment was vexed because of the proposed annexation. 

Texas at that time embraced an area of 376,133 square 
miles, and in 1S50 the State ceded to the United States its 
claim to all territory beyond its present limits, in consider- 
ation of ^10,000,000 in bonds, with the proceeds of which 
the old State debt was paid. 

The principal cause of the difficulty between Texas and 
Mexico originated from the time of the Mexican Revolution 
in 1 82 1. Mexico, after achieving her independence, rear- 
ranged her civil administration and united the territories of 
Coahuila and Texas, the two frontier States east of the Rio 
Grande, under one provincial government. Such was the 
condition of affairs when Texas succeeded in establishing 
her independence, and the Texans naturally claimed the 
independence of the whole province. Mexico, however, 
insisted that Texas only, and not Coahuila, had revolted 
against her authority, and that therefore the latter province 
was still rightfully a part of the Mexican dominions. Thus 
it came to pass that Texas claimed the Rio Grande as her 
western limit, while Mexico was determined to have the 
Nueces River as the separating line. The territory be- 
tween the two rivers was in dispute and the government of 
the United States proposed arbitration, but the authorities 
of Mexico scornfully refused. 

The annexation led to a war with Mexico. 



CHAPTER XL 



OUR WAR WITH MEXICO. 



The Honor of the Arms of Mexico. — Mexican Account of Buena Vista. — A 
Splendidly Told Story That Gives the American Troops Full Credit. — 
Santa Anna's Terrible Retreat. 

In no war, not even in the great war of the Sections and 
States of the United States, did American valor shine more 
brilHantly, and was the capacity of our commanders more 
in evidence, than in the war with Mexico, which began on 
the Rio Grande and was ended at the City of Mexico. The 
habit of our historians of disparaging the Mexican soldiery 
and discrediting the capacity of Santa Anna, because he 
was made a prisoner of war in Texas, has diminished un- 
fairly and most unwisely the credit due our small armies 
and their great leaders, for their splendid and surprising 
achievements. 

The Mexican armies did not lose honor, though they suf- 
fered defeat at Buena Vista and Cerro Gordo, to say noth- 
ing of Cherubusco, Contreras and Chapultepec. The glory 
won by American soldiers is only enhanced by the conces- 
sion, according to the truth of history, of the manly qualities 
of the enemy they overcame, and those enemies are now 
our friends and co-operate with us in good works and com- 
pete with us in progressive civilization. It is not only due 
to historical truth, but it is consonant with American states- 
manship of Continental bearing, to give the Mexicans due 
consideration for the vigor and fortitude with which they 
resisted us at Monterey and Vera Cruz, in the midst of the 
mountains and at the gates of the City of Mexico. 

159 



i6o OUR WAR WITH MEXICO. 

General Scott, charged with a direct movement upon the 
Mexican capital, drew from General Taylor, whose base 
was on the Rio Grande; and Santa Anna advanced, expect- 
incT to crush Taylor, hoping to beat him conclusively and, 
returnin<^ to check Scott. His movement was excellently 
planned, but failed of execution, largely owing to the hard- 
ships of the Mexican army in its arduous advance that was 
halted at Buena Vista. In a Mexican account of this move- 
ment there is this striking picture, worthy of memory. 

** The night was passed in the gate of Carnero. There 
were the light corps, the Hussars, and the other troops in 
the midst of a plantation of palm trees. ' In the night,' 
relates an eye-witness in a periodical of the capital, ' the 
cold was intense, beyond description, and the army shiver- 
ing, by an insdnct almost of desperation set fire to different 
points in the groves of palms. The flame increased its 
volume, and an ocean of fire suddenly sprang up with its 
awful waves in the midst of the heavens. The spectacle 
was imposing and sublime. By the light the soldiers were 
seen half dead with cold, looking like an army of lifeless 
bodies.' 

"On the 22d the march was resumed. General Santa 
Anna on horseback presented himself to the troops and 
aroused their spirits. He proceeded to the advance guard, 
whose enthusiasm was at the highest pitch. Information 
was soon received that the Americans, who it was believed 
would defend the post of Aguanueva, had abandoned that 
hacienda, after having given it to the flames. 

" As soon as Santa Anna had become certain of this fact, 
he rode hastily to Aguanueva with his staff and the Hussars. 
Having come there, he resolved at once to follow up the 
enemy, and ordered the cavalry to the front. They imme- 
diately obeyed, and while the divisions of the infantry halted 



OUR WAR WITH MEXICO. i6i 

to provide themselves with water, the cavalry passed with- 
out one man stopping to drink a drop, although all were 
fatigued, without food and burning with thirst. In passing 
the hacienda they turned their wistful looks to the well 
which reanimated, with its crystal waters; but submissive to 
the voice of duty, they went on together without leaving 
the ranks." 

This showed devotion and discipline, but was not a good 
preparation for battle. The fortunes of the day might have 
been changed if the cavalry rushing to combat, with the 
hardest work before them, had paused to partake of the 
" Crystal Waters." 

"A little further on they came up with the enemy on the 
field of batde, known by the name of the Angostura.^"-' The 
ground which had to be passed over was formed of exten- 
sive and broad plains, in which it would not have been pos- 
sible to resist the vigorous attack of our troops, especially 
of our invincible cavalry. But where the enemy had halted 
to g-ive battle, two successive series of hills and barrancas 
began, which formed a position truly formidable. Each 
hill was fordfied with a battery, and ready to deal its mur- 
derous fire upon any attempting to take it. The position 
presenting serious obstacles to an attack manifested very 
plainly that for the Mexicans to gain a victory they would 
have to sustain a heavy loss in men. 

As soon as the cavalry arrived at Encantada, where they 
came in contact with the enemy, the firing of light arms 
commenced. The general-in-chief immediately ordered the 
infantry to accelerate their speed by marching in double- 
quick time. When this was effected, notwithstanding the 
troops being exhausted, they were pushed forward to the 
Angostura, which thus made the day's tramp in all some 

* The Mexican name for Buena Vista. 



i62 OUR WAR WITH .MEXICO. 

twelve leagues. The fatigue alone killed several soldiers, 
who remained stretched upon the road. When the infantry 
came up, the brigade of General Mejia took a position to 
the left in the cornfields, and was supported by a corps of 
cavalry. The remainder of the infantry being placed upon 
the rio-ht, formed in two Imes, with sufficient reserves and 
batteries. The brigade of cavalry were halted in the rear. 

"The General-in-chief directed Ampudia to occupy, with 
the light corps, a mountain that had remained abandoned 
on our right, and which was extremely important to decid- 
ing the action. These troops moved toward the position, 
and General Taylor at the same time perceived the mistake 
he had made. In order to retrieve his error, he sent a re- 
spectable force in the same direction in hopes to anticipate 
our reaching the point. The two divisions approaclied each 
other, and knowing that the occupation of the mountain 
would not now be an easy undertaking, and that it would 
belong to the victor, they opened their fire and joined in a 
fierce struggle. Besides the opposition of the enemy, this 
eminence in itself presented weighty obstacles. The ascent 
was almost perpendicular, and consequently to take the 
position presented painful difficulties, making it necessary 
to adopt a thousand expedients to overcome them." 

The action was prolonged with animation, and when the 
night had completely closed in, the result was still very 
doubtful. The light corps fought courageously, and the 
other part of the army, simply spectators of the battle, fol- 
lowed with their eyes, the direction of the fires, anxious be- 
tween doubt and hope. " As soon as it was dark," con- 
tinues the account before quoted, " the scene was magnifi- 
cent. A cloud of fire was seen, in fact, floating in the skies, 
which increased or diminished as the enemy gained or lost 
ground," At last the Americans gave way, their soldiers 




o 



o 

pq 

W 
X 




THE METHODS OF SPANISH CONQUEST. 



OUR WAR WITH MEXICO. 165 

retreated, and ours scaled a summit as desperately defended 
as intrepidly won. 

" For the balance of the night they bivouacked in front of 
the enemy. It had rained, the cold was intense, and to 
make fires was not proper, as all lights had been prohibited 
in the camp. The greater portion of the army awaited the 
action, indifferent and tranquil, as if death were not ringing 
in sounds about their heads. Meanwhile some officers 
watched, oppressed with reflections which prevail on the 
eve of a great battle. 

" The 23d commenced, and the first dawn of that ever 
memorable day was saluted by martial strains from all the 
corps. General Santa Anna was now on his horse giving 
directions. The fire of the cannon opened and the troops 
took their positions, and the brigade of General Mejia 
passed from the left to the right of the road. The battle 
soon after became general, and as there was no time to pre- 
pare food, the soldiers fought all day without eating. 

" The action began at the mountain gained in the evening, 
where the enemy now contended with our light corps with- 
out success. Between seven and eicrht in the morninof the 
General-in-chief gave the order to charge. All the troops 
now advanced, moving in a parallel line of battle. Along 
the road moved forward, a column under the orders of 
General Blanco (D. Santiago), composed of the battalions 
of sappers, the mixed troops of Tampico, and the Fijo de 
Mexico, their left being supported by the Hussars. To the 
right of this column was the division of Lombardini, forming 
the centre, and at his side was that of Pacheco. A little 
further back still to the right, serving as a reserve, followed 
that of General Ortega. General Ampudia, with the light 
corps, reinforced by the Fourth of the line, continued fighting 

with the American force at the foot of the mountain. 
10 



1 66 OUR WAR WITH MEXICO. 

" The line of the enemy was oblique, therefore, when our 
army marched in line parallel, as we have said, the column 
on the road received a destructive fire from cannon, while 
the other divisions were yet distant from the Americans. 
However, it was not disconcerted, and the soldiers fearlessly 
rushed forward, closing up the gaps which the balls opened 
in their ranks, with musket to the shoulder, and desiring to 
come to the bayonet to avenge their slain comrades, sacri- 
ficed with impunity. But General Santa Anna perceiving 
the slaughter ordered a halt, sheltering them behind a slight 
undulation which shut out the enemy's fire. 

" In the meanwhile the divisions of Lombardini and Pa- 
checo had debouched and were at the points contested. 
When the acdon began Lombardini received a dangerous 
wound which caused him to retire, and the command de- 
volved upon General Perez. The troops of General Pa- 
checo, almost entirely raw recruits, were shaken and soon 
drew back, pressed by the unerring fire which they received 
in the front, and a fierce attack in their flank which 
effectually threw them into disorder. The dispersion was 
general. In vain Pacheco, with a valor worthy of eulogy, 
endeavored to hold his men, who never halted until they 
reached the last ranks. The enemy, desirous of improving 
their advantage, hastened to complete the victory and ad- 
vanced with intrepidity. But the division of General Perez 
calmly and steadily made a change of front to the right, and 
obliged them to retire. This skillful movement was sec- 
onded by a battery of eight, of which Captain Ballarta had 
charge, and which Santa Anna had placed under the orders 
of the serene General Michaeltorena. The fire from these 
pieces occasioned a considerable loss to the Americans. 
Each discharge was effecdve from the short distance at 
which they fought, being only that of a small hill. The 



OUR WAR WITH MEXICO. 167 

enemy who had dreamed for a moment of victory retired 
routed, leaving the field covered with bodies, the brave 
mixed up on both sides who had fallen in this bloody con- 
flict. 

" The ardor had been great with all who had been engaged. 
Now our soldiers, ascending the hill, charged with the bayo- 
net, now descending the barranca closed with the enemy, 
and again climbing up without ceasing to fight, and again 
turned like an avalanche from above headlongr to the bot- 
tom. Thus they gained and lost ground, and thus at last 
they remained masters of the place, achieved by such heroic 
efforts. The triumph would at that instant have been com- 
plete if the cavalry had been at hand to dash upon the broken 
remains of the conquered forces. Unfortunately, this was 
at a distance, and when it came up it met them already 
re-formed. But it charged with boldness under the direction 
of the valiant General Juvera. All did their duty, and 
General D. Angel Guzman, colonel of the regiment of 
Morelia, distinguished himself in a special manner, pursuing 
the enemy to the hacienda of Buena Vista. Part of the 
cavalry followed so far in the chase that to return to our 
camp they had to take the rear of Taylor's troops and pass 
out by the left of the position. 

" In the first battle, to which we have referred, the Mexi- 
cans had conquered. But the advantages which the ground 
afforded to the enemy required continued efforts, and not 
one victory, but many. Rallying the troops upon the top 
of a hill, they at once re-formed them, and it was necessary to 
proceed by taking hill after hill. The column which we had 
left upon the road, sheltered by the unevenness of the ground, 
came now to form the reserve of the line. Our troops ad- 
vanced in good order; the battery of General Michael- 
torena alone, which played upon our side, destroyed the 



,68 OUR WAR WITH MEXICO 

enemy, and it came to the bayonet, with the soldiers fight- 
ino- hand-to-hand. For the second time our brave men 
conquered. The Americans rahied on the next hill-top, 
leaving for a trophy one piece of cannon and three flags. 

" At this time some persons, for a parley, presented them- 
selves to theGeneral-in-chief, intimating for him to surrender. 
Santa Anna answered with dignity, and refused to accede 
to so original a request. We should have passed over this 
incident in silence, as unimportant, if it were not for the 
fact that the envoy of this parley communicated that Gene- 
ral Taylor was under the impression that Santa Anna had 
sent another to him, and that officer has so certified in his 
official report. To clear up the affair, we will explain in 
what this mistake consisted. 

"At the second charge of our troops, a lieutenant, D. 
Jose Maria Montoya, who was in the front rank, became 
mixed up with the Americans. Seeing himself alone, and 
not desiring to be killed or taken prisoner, he availed him- 
self of a stratagem to feign a parley, whereby he was 
carried into the presence of General Taylor. This was 
followed by his returning to our camp accompanied by two 
officers of their army, to have an interview with General 
Santa Anna. But Montoya, who had his reasons for not 
presenting himself, separated from the commissioners, who 
fulfilled their Instructions." * 

* This personal anecdote does not embellish the text, nor does it seem to 
have been introduced for that purpose, but only to create the impression that 
Santa Anna had not summoned Taylor to surrender, but that Taylor had, on 
the contrary, summoned him. On the 22d at ii o'clock in the morning the 
American General received a written communication from Santa Anna inform- 
ing him that he was surrounded by 20,000 Mexican troops, and demanding him 
to surrender. This note was soon after answered in another declining to do so, 
and which was carried to the Mexican headquarters. The correspondence is 
still preserved among the official papers of the American staff. 

The story of Jose Montoya may be true in substance, for Taylor on the 23d 



Otrj^ tVAI^ WiTM MEXICO. 169 

"After the second combat which was in the morning 
between ten and eleven, a Hght drizzHng rain fell. Our 
troops now took some rest and at twelve returned to 
march again upon the positions of the enemy. The sap- 
pers and other corps who were in reserve having, at this 
time, already turned to engage in the battle, General 
Taylor believed our left was weak. He therefore advanced 
some forces in that direction, who met with an unconquer- 
able resistance. The brigade of Torrejon charged upon 
them, and they lost many officers and soldiers. The acticn 
became general ; our line advanced ; the light corps, who 
in the course of the batde had made the troops which they 
met give way, were now at the very extreme end of the 
brow of a hill, closed with the enemy. Again the affray 
became desperate, the dead and wounded increased on 
both sides ; the one attacked gallandy, the other defended 
bravely; none yielded; the combat was prolonged for whole 
hours, and at the end, only after unheard-of efforts, did they 
succeed in forcing the enemy to their last position. Two 
more of their pieces and a field forge fell into our hands. 

did receive a verbal message from the Mexicans, purporting to come from their 
headquarters. He, therefore, sent General Wool to learn what was wanted, and 
stopped firing, but that officer, as General Taylor says, " upon reaching the 
Mexican lines could not cause the enemy to cease their fire, and accordingly 
returned without having an interview." 

Montoya is a young man of excellent manners, of some scientific acquire- 
ments, of good character, and conversant with the French, but not the English 
language. He is now employed in the office of topography and statistics in 
the war department of Mexico. There are many reasons for believing his 
statement to be veracious. Yet no one will imagine that a summons for a sur- 
render to General Taylor was absurdly answered by the same demand in 
return being made of Santa Anna. The whole subject of the text is to insin- 
uate the belief that the respective forces were so nearly equal in numbers, that 
the American General entered the action flushed with the most sanguine antici- 
pations. 

General Taylor had no more thought of summoning Santa Anna to surrender 
than he had of sending him a challenge to single combat. 



lyo OUR WAR WITH MEXICO. 

" At this time there came on a heavy shower of rain, 
and the troops, dead with fatigue, halted. Taylor, having 
tenaciously receded from hill to hill and losing each, after 
an obstinate resistance, prepared to make his final stand 
before yielding the palm of victory. But the batde had 
ceased ; the charge feebly made was the last stroke of our 
forces. The enemy did not believe themselves routed, for 
so well had they lost their positions, except one, which 
was sufficient still to present a hostile attitude, that they 
feigned the glory of having conquered. On our part the 
army was proclaimed victorious, alleging in proof the 
trophies captured, the positions taken, and the divisions 
vanquished. The truth is, our arms routed the Americans 
in all the encounters, and so far the issue of the battle was 
favorable to us. There had been three partial triumphs, 
but not a complete victory. 

' We have done no more than to explain the movements 
of the army as a whole, omitting strokes of valor and pa- 
triotism, which could not be inserted in this narrative. 
Upon the whole, however, we must say in general, that to 
the many persons whose conduct has been eulogized with 
justice, there are more who merit equally the estimation of 
their fellow-citizens. It was seen that various chiefs of 
corps took their flags in hand, led on their soldiers to ac- 
tion, and occupied the posts of the greatest danger. The 
officers behaved with dignity and proper deportment. The 
valor of the troops has extorted praise, even from the very 
enemy, who have only spoken ill of some generals, alleging 
that if all had imitated the example of the subordinates, 
the issue of the batde would have been decided in our 
favor. 

" General Santa Anna has not been embraced in this ac- 
cusation Friends and enemies have recognized the valor 



OUR WAR WITH MEXICO 



171 



with which he constantly braved the fire. It is to be re- 
gretted his combinations did not correspond with his 
gallantry, that his errors dim the splendor of his merits, 
and that while it is painful to blame his conduct as a gen- 
eral, it is also pleasing to praise his courage as a soldier. 

" The battle of Angostura had ended. The columns, 
masters of the field of action, received the unexpected 
order to stop fighting and retire at sundown to Aguanueva. 
There they met with provisions and supplies so much 
needed, and which were wanting in the place where they 
had fought. The drawing off commenced with the artil- 
lery, trains and wagons followed by the different brigades 
and corps. General Torrejon, with the third brigade, com- 
posed of the 3d, 7th, and 8th regiments, and the active of 
Guanajuato, remained, charged with the duty of passing 
the night on the field and of making fires over the whole 
extent to deceive the enemy. 

"Our soldiers had displayed a valor worthy of a better 
fate ; they had rushed boldly upon the enemy, crossing 
barrancas, ascendino- hills, and throwing themselves on the 
American batteries, which swept their ranks. They had 
fallen killed, or wounded, and with their last breath had 
shouted ' Viva Republica.' Thus fighting in a cause less 
just, were those men endeared to the grand army, which 
the captain of the age commanded, who, falling in battle, 
sent forth in their agony no other cries than ' Vive la 
France,' ' Vive I'Empereur.' 

"Those whose wounds were slight were carried half a 
league from the battlefield, and there, with the pure atmos- 
phere, with some few appliances, and with limited and in- 
sufficient medical supplies, cures were effected. Such 
was the surgical hospital, in which might be seen the 
chiefs of the highest distinction and rank down to the most 



,^2 OUR WAR WITH MEXICO. 

miserable soldiers. These unfortunates had not learned 
even the fate reserved for them ; they did not know that 
death would have been for many a less mournful evil and 
an enviable destiny. 

" In taking the road for Aguanueva a scene of horror 
was presented which moved the hearts of those who had 
braved danger with serenity during the most critical mo- 
ments of the combat. The wounded were upwards of 800 
in number, and the means of transportation at their dis- 
posal were too few to permit all being removed. It was im- 
perative, therefore, to leave a portion to their unhappy 
fate. These men, abandoned on a desert, steeped in their 
blood, shivering with cold, parched with thirst, without 
medical stores, without shelter, without food, saw their 
companions disappear, bearing with them all life and hope ; 
and then was depicted on their livid countenances the 
appalling calmness of despair. In sight, already, might be 
viewed the jackals and dogs, who waited for the moment 
when they might begin their frightful banquet. Those 
who, more fortunate, could escape the horror of that night, 
had, in the future, one less cruel. They counted upon the 
sympathy of the enemy, and it is due to justice to say that 
they complied with the laws of war and the dictates of hu- 
manity. 

" On our side, they who had retired could not but feel a 
vivid grief for the wounded who had been abandoned. 
Many saw among them relations and friends from whom 
they were separating forever, and without the power more- 
over of paying them the last tribute of affection, leaving 
the buzzards to gorge upon their dead bodies. To com- 
plete the catalogue of misfortunes, this was not the last 
pain suffered on the night of the 25th, and which will fill a 
page of woe in our military festivals. 



OUR WAR WITH MEXICO. 



173 



"The retreat had begun at sundown, but the army, 
which now formed a confused mass, marched slowly, the 
brioades embarrassincr each other, and advancino- with diffi- 
culty. Although the batde ground was not more than 
four leagues distant from Aguanueva, the advance only 
reached there at ten o'clock at night. This hacienda which 
the Americans, on retiring, had fired, even now was burn- 
ing when our troops returned. On one side of the road 
was a slimy, stagnant pond, into which the soldiers plunged, 
dying with thirst. But the water, instead of refreshing, 
only served to open the grave ; since scarcely had they 
tasted it, when they expired in frightful convulsions. The 
few wounded who had got back to this place, and many 
who came worn out, but not hurt, died in this manner, 
and their blood, mixing with the scum upon the pool made 
the drinking intolerable. Yet there was no water to ap- 
pease the burning thirst of the troops, and there were not 
wanting, some, who touched their lips with this unclean, dis- 
gusting, and baneful liquid. 

" Soon the sight of the dead bodies, the death rattle of 
the dying, the moaning of the wounded, and the cursing of 
all, added new griefs to the spirits already sad with so 
many sufferings. The spectacle presented to view infused 
the most painful misery; the walking over the dead, and the 
trampling upon those who had not yet breathed their last." 

This is a most interesting account of the famous battle. 
Few Americans have seen a Mexican account of the com- 
bat. The testimony of the historian we quote is as flatter- 
ing to the quality of our soldiers, as we could wish, and the 
fact that the Mexicans fought well was long since conceded, 
but rarely, if ever, related so effectively as here. The 
Story of the Retreat shows the extent of the American vic- 
tory and the Mexican misfortune. 



174 OUR WAR WITH MEXICO. 

The retreat of the Mexican army is told with picturesque 
effect by Albert Ramsey, from Mexican accounts. 

" The wagons and trains blocked up the road, the pack 
animals stumbled at every step. The saddle horses and 
draught mules, fatigued, and without anything to eat, could 
scarely move. All was confusion, all wretched, and all en- 
during privations. At least, on the field of battle, the 
night, with its protecting shades, covered half the disasters; 
but in Aguanueva the picture of horror of the retreat was 
revealed in all its deformity, illuminated by the reddish 
glare of the burning pile, which mingled with the pale rays 
of the yellow and cheerless moon. At dawn of day on the 
24th the call beat; that warlike sound reanimated the 
troops, dissipating die depression on their minds in seeing 
how few had survived their toils and labors. The review 
which was ordered exhibited the immense loss of the army, 
caused not so much by those who fell in action, as by the 
dispersion of the night ; a dispersion which condnued on 
the subsequent days." 

Presendy there was reorganization, and while this was 
being done, three American officers arrived, in the character 
of commissioners. Conducted into the presence of the 
General-in-chief, they explained that our wounded had 
been collected and sent to Saltillo, where they would receive 
careful attention. They made, in the name of General 
Taylor, a high-flown eulogium upon the valor displayed by 
our troops in battle, and offered refreshments and provi- 
sions, which we knew were scarce in camp. They proposed 
ultimately an agreement for the suspension of arms and for 
terminating the differences existing between the two 
nations. General Santa Anna answered, and thanked 
them for what was due, such as the meritorious deportment 
observed to the wounded, as well as for the generous offer 



OUR WAR IVirM MEXICO. 



175 



they had made ; but he could not entertain the proposition, 
let alone enter into a convention, not being authorized by 
the Government, and, moreover, it was impossible while 
the territory was not free and occupied by the American 
forces. 

In the course of the interview the General himself directed 
that, instead of the commissioners leaving the camp with 
their eyes bandaged, in conformity with established usages 
in such cases, they might pass before the army, observe its 
condition, and even review it if they wished. His object 
was to convince them with their own eyes that the falling 
back to Angostura had not origfinated in terror of the 
American arms. 

In effect, the commissioners, accompanied by two adju- 
tants of Santa Anna, passed in review the forces who 
remained even under arms. Their martial aspect, their 
fine deportment, their discipline and valor, which were 
appreciated at Buena Vista, attracted the attention of the 
Americans, who expressed themselves in words of praise. 

But the retreat continued, and the demoralization that 
had been partially overcome increased, and the privations 
and panic of the troops augmented. Most of the wounded 
went in thirty carts, drawn by oxen, who had been selected 
there in preference to those having less hope of recovery. 
Various officers were also borne forward, carried by their 
soldiers, among whom there were many who watched with 
the greatest attention. Others, on the contrary, availed 
themselves of the occasion to commit crimes. They dis- 
persed, and they deserted, not without first robbing their 
unfortunate officers and carrying their cruelty to the 
extreme of killing them for the greater security to their 
wickedness. 

The same disorder facilitating the soldiers in separating 



t'j6 



OUR IVAR WtTH MEXTCO. 



from the ranks, caused a large dispersion. Those who, 
endowed with more constancy, followed their banners, 
anticipated being victims of new sufferings. The day's 
journey from Aguanueva to the Encarnacion was fourteen 
leacrues. To this large space was added the want of whole^ 
some sustenance; of the most serious, even that of water 
they had not one drop ; and the painful sensation of awful 
cold penetrated to the marrow of the bones. On the 
brigades arriving at the Encarnacion, a general dismay 
was noticed, and which every moment was augmented. 
All classes were equally disgusted, for their hardships were 
in common, and none had a better lot than others. 

On the 27th they marched to the Salado, walking this 
day eleven leagues. There was unfolded a new misfortune, 
which was the most serious that they had yet encountered. 
The food in the days before had been reduced to detestable 
and putrid meat, and the water which they drank was 
brackish. Those who had taken these unhealthy aliments 
were attacked with a violent dysentery, which spread with 
a gloomy prevalence until very few were free from it. The 
ravages of the infirmity became extremely deplorable ; 
death devoured the unfortunate troops, so that every day a 
considerable number died. The army seemed made up of 
dead men ; the miserable condition to which the sick were 
reduced, caused the skin of many to stick to their bones, 
and its shrinking exposed their teeth, giving to the counte- 
nance the expression of a forced laugh, which filled one 
with horror. 

On the way there was bad news from Mexico. A pro- 
nunciamento had succeeded against the Administration, 
and the Mexican writer says : 

*' Great was the despondency which this disconsolate 
information produced. The brave men, who had gone to 



OUR WAR WITH MEXICO. 1^7 

contend with a foreign enemy, saw, with a heavy heart, that 
our internal dissensions were not forgotten, when the 
menaced invasion destroyed all things, like a fire which 
spreads rapidly in a thick wood full of combustible materials. 
The proximity of danger, which Vera Cruz felt, gave a new 
throb to their sad forebodings. The nation — attacked first 
in the north, next in the east, points of fatal augury — pre- 
sented a spectacle to the world, by her fratricidal strife in 
the beautiful city, at whose gates the Americans were now 
rapping in their irruption. 

" In Matehuala the arrest of General Minon was an event 
that caused a deep sensation. It was published that to 
him, in the battle of Angostura, the mistake was attributed 
for his not attacking the enemy, as had been agreed upon, 
and thus accusing him for our not having obtained a com- 
plete triumph. This antecedent and various remarks which, 
in the course of the campaign, Minon had made on Santa 
Anna, upon his operations, irritated the latter to such a 
degree that he resolved to submit to a court the conduct of 
the censorious general. The order was to seize him and 
place him in rigorous and close confinement. 

"On the ut of March they marched from Matehuala, 
and, without any incide.it occurring of importance, they 
arrived at Pefiasco on the 8th. In the haciendas of the 
Presa and Solis the first symptoms of gratitude were mani- 
fested. Their proprietor aided the army with a generous 
hospitality, distributing also proper nourishment among 
the sick and wounded. On the way to the Venado new 
supplies were given with liberality and the greatest good- 
will. 

" The troops made their entrance into San Luis Potosi on 
the 9th, where they were received with unequivocal testi- 
monies of the public gratitude. This city, as well as the 



i,S OUR WAR WITH MEXICO. 

whole State of which it is the capital, gave repeated proofs 
of the patriotism of its inhabitants. Its excellent conduct, 
imitated by very few states, should put to the blush those 
who had not done their duty. This city gave the army a 
triumphal reception. The citizens endeavored in their 
courtesy, without sparing any efforts, to serve as far as 
they could, the soldiers of the Angostura. 

" The remains of that army which had been seen to sally 
forth enthusiastic and respectable, returned dispirited and 
reduced to a small number. The perplexities of the road 
had infused a new disorganization into the brigades. The 
corps came with a force greatly diminished, order lost, and 
discipline relaxed. The condition, which these unfortunate 
troops now showed, made only too plain the almost incredi- 
ble disasters of the army. The loss sustained from the 
Angostura to San Luis exceeded 10,500 men." 

That the fortunes of w^ar wavered from side to side in 
the Battle of Buena Vista is a fact always recognized by the 
people of the United States, and there was much disputa- 
tion as to the incidents of the combat. The Mexican 
account gives a stranger impression of the disastrous extent 
of the defeat of Santa Anna, than the reports and reflec- 
tions of our own writers. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 

The Policy which Mexico should have Pursued — The Demorahzing Effect of 
Defeat on Nations of Spanish Descent — The Boastful Vanity of the 
Spanish-American Compared with the Active Energy of our Troops — 
The Story of the Battle of Cerro Gordo and a Vivid Description of the 
Terrible and Demoralizing Retreat. 

Ripley says of the Mexican policy when the American 
invasion was on two hnes : " Mexico's first want was a 
victory. Every thing might be hoped from such an event 
on the part of Mexico, and all which could be feared was 
to have been anticipated on the part of the United States. 
Had the Mexican army once beaten an American army, the 
result would have been such as followed the battle of 
Baylen ; the only important one where Spaniards were 
successful in the war with the French in their peninsula, 
and then only through the surprising errors of the French 
general. But from that time Spanish energy was aroused. 
Spaniards had conquered at Baylen, and that one victory 
flattered their obstinate pride and induced them to continue 
the struggle. Their country, mountain and valley, swarmed 
with guerrillas; armies were raised with the most surprising 
rapidity ; and, though beaten again and again, were only 
dispersed to reappear in stronger force. Baylen was and 
still is the cry of the Spaniards in their remembrance of 
former, and hope of future success. 

"Such might have been the anticipated effect of a victory 
of the Mexican general over either Taylor, who had been 

thus far the terror of Mexico, or Scott, the general-in-chief 

179 



iSo THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 

of the American army. When the immense importance of 
the victory is considered, it cannot be doubted that, when it 
had once been gained, and the nation fairly aroused by the 
cheering news, then, and not till then, would geographical 
points of defence have formed principal topics for the con- 
sideration of Santa Anna, Had these been remembered 
by the American commanders, there would have been no 
difficulty in deciding whether the Mexican president would 
have marched to Vera Cruz to oppose the landing of a 
large force, composed in great part of the veterans of the 
line of the American army, or moved in the direction which 
he had long observed, especially when the American troops 
were reduced to one third of their former strength, and the 
regular force of all arms, to less than a thousand men. So 
long as the prospect of success was brighter in the north than 
in the south, so long as it was certain that Santa Anna (unless 
his genius was underrated) would attack there ; and the di- 
version which General Scott considered of so much import- 
ance, was made on General Taylor's part the moment his 
position offered more probabilities of successful attack than 
that which ^cott was about to take; it was believed that 
the Mexican general would refrain from attacking either, 
in which case it made small difference about the streno-th 
of either division. 

" Santa Anna's movements had given up the whole coun- 
try north and east of the Sierra Madre without a struggle. 
But he had put three hundred miles of comparatively des- 
ert country, on the direct route from Saltillo to San Luis, 
between himself and General Taylor, of which the water 
tanks could be destroyed to impede- the advance of his 
enemy, and which, for that purpose as well as to secure his 
own movement, should he choose to make one, were 
guarded by strong corps of his cavalry. It was in cross- 



THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 



i8.^ 



ing this desert to attack Taylor that the Mexican army was 
forced to enter the Buena Vista fight in a state of fatigue 
most distressing, Santa Anna overcame the discourag- 
ing condition at tlie capital, and reviving his army, met 
Scott at Cerro Gordo." The Mexican account of this dis- 
tinguished battle is most interesting. We quote from 
Albert Ramsey's "Other Side," which gives the Mexicans, 
fighting on their cwn soil, due credit, and the American 
troops the greater glory. 

"The American army had encamped on the road, in front 
of our positions on the right, at a distance of about three- 
quarters of a league. On the i ith, one of their guerrillas, 
which came out to reconnoitre, had an encounter with our 
advance, in which we lost three soldiers, and the Americans, 
as we afterwards learned, had an officer wounded. On the 
following days an attack was plainly expected. General 
Santa Anna mounted his horse at daybreak and, escorted 
by his staff, reviewed the line, paying particular attention 
to the dismounted men, and the construction of barracks 
for the troops, and returned about noon to headquarters. 
In the evening he was mounted again till sun-down, when 
he retired, accompanied by some of his adjutants, and the 
principal chiefs of the army, to dine, while at intervals a 
military band, stationed outside, performed choice pieces 
of music. 

"With vanity then, he supposed that he had stopped the 
triumphal march of the enemy. Flattered by his fortune, 
which had abandoned him for an instant in 1844, he be- 
lieved it had returned to smile on his arrival in the republic 
in 1846 ; and he cherished fatal illusions, perhaps produced 
by want of foresight. Under a complete fascination, and 
despising even the voice of science, he required the humilia- 
tion of those who surrounded him and was inaccessible to 



i84 THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 

reason and truth. Some of our chiefs, also, destitute of 
interest in the cause, confined themselves to blaming his 
conduct in private circles, without having the energy 
necessary to dissuade him from his errors. We have lieard 
some one boast, after passing along our line for the first 
time, of having observed important defects in the general 
plan of defence, which he communicated only to his friends, 
presaging an inevitable misfortune. 

"The enemy remained in camp opposite our positions, 
without undertaking the attack so much desired by our 
army, who looked forward with determination to victory or 
death. Their sufferings rendered their condition more 
distressing, and continually increased their anxiety for a 
batde. 

"And to him who, for the first time, found himself in the 
midst of the army, in the presence of the enemy, in circum- 
stances so solemn for the country, beholding the soldier at 
last in the exercise of his chivalrous mission, and partici- 
pating in his sufferings and isolation ; to one who, from 
that scene, contemplated a whole nation carelessly aban- 
doned to the fate of a handful of men, and read, as in a 
book, one of the most important pages of our history; to 
one, in short, who looked upon that new and imposing 
situation through the glass of time, — it seemed like realiz- 
ing a dream of the imagination. 

"General Santa Anna, more impatient perhaps than any 
one else, wishing to provoke the enemy to some movement, 
and to obtain some information of the state and number of 
the opposing forces, made arrangements on the night of 
the 14th that the cavalry should march out the next day, 
under the command of General Canalizo, making a recon- 
noissance on the American camp without hazarding a deci- 
sive action, and above all things to take a few prisoners, 



THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 185 

that he might interrogate them concerning what he wished to 
know. D. Angel Frias, Governor of Chihuahua, who had 
come to his state after the lamentable battle of the Sacra- 
mento, to implore aid against the invaders, and full of gener- 
ous patriotism, had asked leave to take part in the approach- 
ing contest, was appointed by the General-in-chief to 
accompany that expedition, and to interrogate for him the 
prisoners who might be captured. 

" On the 15th, at break of day, the cavalry arrived from 
Corral Falso, consisting of the Fifth and Ninth regiments, 
the Morelia and Coraceros, and the squadrons of Jalapa, 
Hussars, Chalchicomula and Orizav^ ; and soon after sun- 
rise the General-in-chief put them in motion, making them 
file along the rear of our camp, and pass by a rugged path 
which declined to the Rio del Plan, in order that after- 
wards, mounting the opposite height, they might cross it to 
surprise the enemy's left. After that force had marched, 
General Santa Anna, proceeding to our position on the 
right, the only point from which the American encampment 
could be discerned, awaited the result of the movement. 
A few of the enemy's guerrillas showed themselves on the 
hill where our cavalry were to make their appearance, and 
the General and those who accompanied him, anxiously 
looked for the moment when our forces should meet and 
destroy them, perhaps without allowing a single soldier to 
escape. But they waited in vain and the General, growing 
impatient, and wishing to do them some injury, ordered a few 
cannon to be fired, which, although perhaps not reaching 
them, made them disperse ; not, however, until some of 
their marksmen had fired a few shots at our left flank. 

"Soon after the return of General Santa Anna to head- 
quarters, Colonel Codallos, his Excellency's adjutant, who 
had been sent to hasten the cavalry with an order for Gen- 



iS6 THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 

eral Canalize, returned excessively fatigued. He said that 
he had made extraordinary exertions to perform his com- 
mission ; that the path which the forces had to pursue was 
impracticable ; that the difficulties had finally become so 
great that they had already lost two or three dragoons in 
the defiles, who, falling down the rocks, horse and man, had 
perished at the bottom of the precipice. The General-in- 
chief therefore desisted from the movement, and the cavalry 
returned by the hills to Corral Falso, where they arrived at 
sunset, with their horses completely broken down. 

" The enemy having made no movement on the 1 6th, their 
intentions were doubted, and it was even imaofined that 
intimidated by the position of our army, they would not 
make an attack, but retire, to await reinforcements from the 
United States. It was ascertained also, from two prisoners, 
that the yellow fever had made great ravages among the 
American troops, which added to the evils of their position. 
At length, however, on the 17th, General Alcorta, having 
gone out at noon to make a reconnoissance by the hill of 
the Atalya, met a portion of the enemy's forces, which he 
fought on his retreat with our advance, while the Third in- 
fantry, which garrisoned the Telegrafo, came down to protect 
them. General Santa Anna immediately proceeded thither, 
sending down several corps, after ordering the reserve col- 
umn to form on the road. He placed the light battalions 
on the declivity of the Telegrafo in several lines, in echel- 
lon, from the centre of that position, and the Fourth of the 
line toward the left, where the enemy was charging with 
the greatest resolution ; while at the summit on the para- 
pets, remained a portion of the Third line and the Eleventh 
Infantry. The Sixth Infantry moved to the right, at the 
order of General Vega, preventing, with their battery, the 
turning of the position. A very vigorous fire was sustained 



THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 



187 



on both sides, and the assaults of the Americans upon our 
lines were repulsed with the greatest vigor. The presence of 
General Santa Anna, who on the top of the hill, accompanied 
by his staff, directed the action, gave animation to the troops. 
The lively vivas to the republic, to independence, and to 
the General-in-chief, that burst forth, and which greeted his 
Excellency, excited in them spirited enthusiasm. Our sol- 
diers confronted death with courage ; they defied it, and the 
light of victory shone in their countenances. The battery 
on the summit, commanded by Lieutenant Olzinger, was 
dexterously managed, causing much destruction among the 
Americans, who, divided into three sections, were charging 
upon the left, the centre and right of the position, and 
succeeded in advancing further on the left, yet failed to gain 
any decided advantage. Being assisted, at that point, by 
the Fourth of the line they poured upon them a terrible fire, 
which disabled a multitude of soldiers and officers. In the 
other points equal resistance was made, so that the action 
was prolonged from hour to hour, but finally terminated, 
the enemy being repulsed at all points. Some retreated to 
the very hill of the Atalaya, and some penetrated by the 
bushy caiiadas, which were discovered on the left of our 
positions. 

" About five o'clock in the afternoon the beat of the drums, 
the bands, and the enthusiastic vivas diffused universal 
rejoicing through our camp. More than 200 men, who had 
fallen dead or wounded that evening, lay upon a field which, 
by their efforts, for one more day belonged to the republic. 
The bodies of the unfortunate dead men were interred in 
the night and the wounded were sent to Jalapa in wagons, 
the motion of which increased the poignancy of their suffer- 
ings. The corps that had sustained the action retired to 
their respective encampments, with the exception of the 



igg THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 

Fourth infantry and the First and Second light, which that 
night reinforced the garrison of the hill. An express imme- 
diately set off for Mexico with the news of the favorable 
results of our arms that morning. It was the general con- 
viction that night that the enemy would begin their attack 
by the left, after the reconnoissance which had been made, 
and it is very remarkable that our resistance was greater 
when they only attempted to try our strength than when 
they proposed decidedly to conquer us. 

" On the same day, the 1 7th, the brigade of General 
Arteaga arrived at Jalapa, composed of active battalions and 
the National Guard of Puebla ; and they had scarcely retired 
to their quarters before an order was received from General 
Santa Anna to take up their march immediately for Cerro 
Gordo. Without taking any rest after their journey those 
wretched soldiers proceeded ; and most of them reached 
Dos Rios that night, leaving various parties behind, who 
could not endure the fatigue. On the following day, at a 
very critical moment indeed, the united brigade arrived at 
Cerro Gordo. 

"Although General Santa Anna apparently fixed his whole 
attention on the position of the right, where he naturally 
expected the decisive attack, instructed by what had hap- 
pened, he sent two 12-pounders and one 16, that night, up 
the hill ; but the last only reached half way up on the left 
side. He also ordered the chiefs of engineers, Robles and 
Cano, to construct the most necessary fortifications on that 
eminence ; and, on the following day, before dawn, he him- 
self placed a battery on the side of the road, almost in front 
of headquarters, at the aperture of a bushy barranca. The 
Americans, in the course of the night, also established a 
battery in the hill of the Atalaya ; and in their preparations 
for an attack on the following day, were interrupted only 



THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. T89 

by a few cannon shots, which General Vasquez, Comman- 
dante of the Telegrafo, ordered to be fired at them. 

"At dawn on the i8th, the roar of the enemy's artillery 
resounded through the camps as a solemn announcement 
of a battle. 

"On the hill, where the brave insurgents had in former 
days shed their blood for independence, now waved our 
flag ; and under its shadow, from that elevation, was seen 
a line of men, who were to serve as a wall against the in- 
vader. Among the files, the different and distinctive ranks 
of the army, from the common soldier to the General-in- 
chief, then invested with the supreme dignity of the nation, 
appeared at that time in all the prestige and with all the 
splendor which the illusions of patriotism conceded to 
them. 

" The enemy, using the battery of Atalaya, opened from 
thence, for some hours, their fire upon the Telegrafo, from 
which our own replied. General Santa Anna then em- 
ployed himself in completing the battery by the roadside ; 
and the engineers, Robles and Cano, under the enemy's 
fire, erected temporary works on the declivity of the Tele- 
grafo, on the very spot where the corps, who defended the 
centre of the position the evening before, had formed. 
Above the positions of the center and the right of our line, 
were now the same forces which had previously garrisoned 
them ; upon the hill the First and Second Light were sent, 
which had gone down early in the morning, to take their 
rations ; and the Sixth Infantry returned to cover the right. 
The Fourth of the Line remained on the spot where they 
had fought so bravely on the 17th. The cavalry, which had 
been ordered down from Corral Falso in the night, formed 
on the road, resting their right opposite the battery just 
erected, and were supported by the Eleventh Infantry. The 



THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 

Third and Fourth Light battahons remained also on the 
road, ready to march to any point that might be designated. 

"Such was the disposition of our forces before sunrise, 
while the cannonade was becoming more and more active 
between the two hills, until the roar was repeated every 
instant. The enemy, without cessation, poured down gre- 
nades, rockets and all other kinds of projectiles which fell 
upon the hill, upon the road and even far beyond our camp. 
Their columns, in the meantime, marched beyond the Ata- 
laya by the crags in front of our left; and about seven in 
the mornine, one of them, under the command of General 
Twiggs, commenced the attack upon the Telegrafo. 

" General Santa Anna, as soon as he had established the 
battery on the left, proceeded to the positions on the right, 
influenced, perhaps, by his first idea. But stopping after 
he had passed the battery of the center and observing from 
that spot, the activity with which the cannonade was sus- 
tained on our part, sent orders to General Vazquez, not to 
expend his park, and to shelter the troops from the enemy's 
fire. Then returning by the road, on arriving at the foot 
of the Telegrafo, the fire of musketry opened, and he im- 
mediately sent up the Third and Fourth Light battalions to 
aid the troops in defending that point. 

" The Americans charged with firmness, deploying as 
skirmishers, covering themselves among the bushes and 
briers that were on the ground upon the lines, scarcely 
marked out, which it had been intended to construct that 
morning, being supported by the Third of the Line, the 
Second Light and part of the Fourth. They made equal exer- 
tions against the left of the Telegrafo, defended by the Fourth 
of the Line, and against the right, where the Sixth Infantry 
was posted, to reinforce them, as on the previous evening. 
The artillery had ceased to play on both sides on account of 



THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 



191 



the proximity of the combatants. The fire of musketry was 
as active as the excitement of the contest. Death flapping 
her wings over that. bloody field set on fire in some places 
by the projectiles of the enemy, and which was mixed in a 
horrible manner with the thick smoke that enveloped thou- 
sands of men crimsoned with the contest. Our soldiers 
fell in heaps in the midst of the confusion, and the enemy 
falling also, were instantly replaced by others, who seemed 
to reproduce them. There fell the worthy Palacios, com- 
mander of the artillery of the field, wounded by the enemy's 
fire ; there a warrior's fame crowned the career of General 
Vazquez, in the fulness of his energies with a glorious 
death, amidst the tumult of battle, and there hundreds of 
brave men shed their blood in the most holy cause. This 
commander should have been succeeded by his second. 
General Uraga, but he was at the head of his battalion, the 
Fourth of the Line, on the left declivity of the Telegrafo ; 
and having not a moment to lose, General Baneneli took the 
command, whose corps, the Third Light, had remained in re- 
serve, sheltered from the fire by the very summit of the hill. 
The activity of the engagement redoubling more and more, 
destroyed new victims. The Second Light and the Third 
and Fourth of the Line, had lost almost their entire force, 
and the last, even the greater part of its officers. The 
enemy, pressing upon our troops with superior numbers, 
successively gained possession of the lower works of the 
position, and without losing an instant, rapidly ascended to 
assault the last crest of the hill. 

" Some of our soldiers now began to leave their ranks, and 
to descend to the opposite side, attempting to mingle with 
the wounded, who were retiring, but General Santa Anna, 
observing it, ordered some of his adjutants to prevent this 
disorder, and they, either on compulsion, or by the stimulus 



jfj2 THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 

of enthusiasm, succeeded in persuading the fugitives to 

return. 

" In the meantime, General Baneneli appealed to the last 
resource, and ordered his men to charge bayonets. They, 
eager to join in an action which they had only heard, im- 
mediately hastened this movement in full force, to come up 
to where they were directed ; but surprised at finding them- 
selves hand to hand with an enemy so superior in numbers, 
and surrounded on all sides, were panic-stricken in an 
instant and fell into disorder ; their commander in vain en- 
deavoring to keep them in the ranks. Being himself in- 
volved in the crowd with the chief of engineers and many 
other officers, who endeavored, sword in hand, to keep 
back the men, they were actually rolled down the opposite 
declivity, borne along by the multitude, which poured on- 
ward like a torrent from the height. 

" On the summit of the hill was now seen, in the midst of 
a column of dense smoke, a multitude of Americans, 
standing amidst X[\<t flashing of their fires, which were 
directed against the enormous mass of men precipitating 
themselves down the steep declivity, covered, as it were, 
with a white robe from the color of their dress. That 
shocking spectacle was like the violent eruption of a vol- 
cano, throwing out flames and cinders from its bosom, and 
spreading them all over its surface. 

" Among the fire and smoke, and above the mass of blue 
formed by the Americans behind the summit of the Tele- 
grafo, still floated our deserted flag. But the banner of 
the stars was soon raised by the enemy upon the same 
staff, and for an instant both became entangled, our own 
at length falling to the ground, amidst the shouts and roar 
of the victors' guns, and the mournful cries and confused 
voices of the vanquished. 



THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 193 

" It was now three-quarters past ten o'clock in the morn- 
ing. The enemy had appeared on the right of our hne 
during the attack on the Telegrafo ; and advancing in col- 
umn upon our position of the center, endeavored to take 
all our entrenchments by assault. Captain Godinez of the 
navy, commanding the artillery, had concerted with the re- 
spective commanders of the three positions, to allow the ene- 
my to advance upon any of them without firing, until they 
should approach within a short distance, taking the precau- 
tion to have the cannon loaded with grape shot. The 
American column, composed of volunteers, under the com- 
mand of General Pillow, approached nearer and nearer to 
our lines without receiving a single shot ; but as soon as they 
reached a convenient place, a close discharge of our pieces^ 
which raked their ranks, accompanied with a vigorous vol- 
ley of small arms from the three positions, made a horrible 
slaughter among the enemy, threw them into disorder, and 
obliged them to make a precipitous retreat. 

" Before they could reorganize, and though our soldiers 
had not suffered the slightest loss, the Telegrafo had yielded ; 
and the Americans who had possession of it, decending by 
the right declivity, upon the battery on the road, which our 
forces had not begun to use, entirely cut off those positions, 
now surrounded on all sides, and commanded by the hill, 
from which the enemy directed their fire. General Jareo 
no longer attempted any resistance, but surrendered with 
his force. 

" When the Telegrafo was lost, the Sixth Infantry had 
retreated to the positions on the right, where they capitu- 
lated with the other corps. The Grenadier battalion, which 
had been drawn out from the battery of the center to the 
foot of the hill, chiefly dispersed, in spite of the exertions 
made to collect it. 



194 THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 

"The brigade of General Arteaga, that had arrived in the 
midst of the conflict, being infected by the disorder of the 
other forces, fell into confusion, opposite headquarters, 
without having come into action. The Eleventh Infantry, in 
obedience to different orders from the Commander-in-chief, 
made repeated marches and counter-marches for that same 
point ; while the scattered remains of the Second, Third, 
and Fourth Light battalions, and the Third and Fourth of 
the line, likewise became disordered ; and the entire 
mass of men, panic-stricken, without discipline, moved 
about in that small piece of road, in the most frightful state 
of confusion. 

" An enthusiastic officer harangued the troops at the 
pitch of his voice, assuring them that they had yet lost 
nothing, wishing to re-animate the spirit now dead in all 
that unfortunate crowd. General Baneneli, rushing in with 
his horse, and full of wrath, poured forth a thousand horri- 
ble imprecations upon his soldiers, and with the butt of his 
pistol threatened particularly one of his captains. The 
General-in-chief vented his rage upon the officers who had 
lost their positions ; and the agitation of the multitude, and 
the difficulties of the ground, with the general dangers and 
desperation, rendered the scene indescribable. 

'' In the meantime the enemy's column, commanded by 
General Worth, passing the barrancas and crags on our 
left, which had been deemed inaccessible, approached the 
battery that had been thrown up that day, the only remain- 
ing one in our possession. The General-in-chief ordered 
General Canalizo to charge with the cavalry, but the woods 
absolutely prevented the execution of the movement. The 
column advanced, in spite of the fire of the cannon, in a 
direction for the road, to the left of our battery, to cut off 
our retreat. When, however, they had approached near 



THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. m- 

enough, more than two hundred skirmishers were sent 
forward, whose fire, as if with a breath of wind, fast cleared 
away the men at our guns, which were suppHed by the 
artillery and a party of cuirassiers, who had been ordered 
to dismount to reinforce the battery. The first adjutant, 
Velasco, chief of the cuirassiers, had the glory of falling at 
the guns. The skirmishers advanced to the front of 
the battery, so that the head of the column was very near 
the road, when our cavalry, seeing that they were about to 
be cutoff, retreated rapidly by the Jalapa road. The last 
effort was then made by Robles, and the brave artillery 
officers, Malagon, Arguelles and Olzinger, who, surrounded 
on all sides, turned their pieces towards the left, directing 
them against the head of the column, a few moments before 
the skirmishers, who rushed upon them with the bayonet, 
got possession of them and turned them against us, 

"General Santa Anna, accompanied by some of his adju- 
tants, proceeded by the road to the left of the battery, when 
the enemy's column, now coming out of the woods, abso- 
lutely prevented his passage by a discharge which obliged 
him to fall back. The carriage in which he had left Jalapa 
was riddled with shot, the mules killed and taken by the 
enemy, as well as a wagon containing sixteen thousand 
dollars, received the day before for the pay of the troops, 
Every tie of command and obedience now being broken 
among our troops, safety alone being the object, and all 
being involved in a frightful whirl, they rushed desperately 
to the narrow pass of the defile that descends to the Plan 
del Rio, where the General-in-chief had proceeded, with the 
chiefs and officers who accompanied him. 

" Horrible, indeed, was the descent by that narrow and 
rocky path, where thousands rushed, disputing the passage 
with desperation, and leaving a track of blood upon the 



196 



THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 



road. All classes being confounded, all military distinc- 
tion and respect were lost, the badges of rank became 
marks for sarcasms, that were only meted out according to 
their grade and humiliation. The enemy, now masters of 
our camp, turned their guns upon the fugitives. This 
auo-mented more and more the terror of the multitude 
crowding through the defile, and pressed forward every in- 
stant by a new impulse, which increased the confusion and 
disgrace of the ill-fated day. 

" Cerro Gordo was lost ! Mexico was opened to the 
iniquity of the invader. 

"General Santa Anna, frowning and silent, letting his 
horse go almost at his will, and followed by a bleeding 
crowd, descended to the bottom of the barranca, crossed' 
the river, and climbed the opposite height. There it was 
probable he would meet an ambush of the enemy, who 
would have killed, with impunity, as many as might ascend 
in disorder by the narrow sloping path, unable to defend 
themselves or to find any refuge. 

" Having reached the summit, the General halted, and 
ordered Generals Ampudia and Rangel and Colonel Ramiro 
to collect, at that point, all the dispersed ; that they might be 
drawn off in order and in the best possible manner. Then, 
taking to the right, he proceeded toward Encero, by a path 
almost parallel to the road from Cerro Gordo to Jalapa. 
He was followed by a small company : Generals Perez, 
Arguelles, and Romero, and the chiefs and officers Schiafino 
Escovar, Galindo, Vega, Roaas, Ouintana, and Arriga, and 
Srs. Trias, Armendaris, Urquidi and a nephew of his own. 

"From the field of battle shots were still heard occasion- 
ally, fired at the wretched and defenceless men who had 
not succeeded in escaping. 

"In the meantime a party of the enemy's cavalry, with two 



THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 



197 



light pieces, had left there, by the Jalapa road, in pursuit 
of our cavalry, and were about to reach the Encero almost 
the same moment with Santa Anna. On discovering each 
other the Americans fired several cannon shots, and Gen- 
eral Santa Anna, leaving the path, proceeded towards the 
left, in a direction at right angles to it. 

"He wandered for a long time, uncertain, with his com- 
panions, without pursuing any fixed route, until he formed 
a resolution, and then proceeded in the paths leading to 
the hacienda of Tuzamapan. 

" Having passed many villages and scattered ranchos, 
among the undulations of an unknown district, they con- 
tinued their march, all overcome with amazement at the 
misfortune which they had suffered. A melancholy expres- 
sion overspread the countenances of those who had accom- 
panied Santa Anna. Everything within the presence 
of this man, the first chief of our nation and our army, 
whom a few hours before they had seen erect and proud, 
possessed of power which he exercised, and hopes of the 
brightest glory, now humbled and confused, seeking among 
the wretched a refuge to flee to, was to them a lively pic- 
ture of the fall of our country, of the debasement of our 
name, of the anathema pronounced against our race. 

"At several places the general dismounted to take some 
rest, and, sitting on a bench where his attendants placed it, 
he remained immovable, unable, in consequence of his 
lameness, to take a single step. A horse, which he asked 
for in the place of his own, was pertly refused by a curate, 
and all these occurrences, insignificant as they were in 
themselves, appeared deeply affecting under existing cir- 
cumstances. 

"About five in the morning he reached the hacienda of 
Tuzamapan, where he resolved to remain until the next 



1 98 



THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 



day. Soon after his arrival, two or three soldiers of the 
Eleventh appeared, bringing with them the chest of ilieir 
corps, whicii contained some money, to deliver it to tlieir 
commander, General Perez ; an honorable deed, which 
appears to us worthy of praise, in a few unhappy m.en, who 
were about to be abandoned in these places in the greatest 
misery. 

"At eleven at night the overseer of the hacienda informed 
the General that he had just received notice of the approach 
of a party of Americans, detached for the pursuit, who were 
about to surround the house. Several musket shots were 
soon heard, at a very short distance, which confirmed the 
news, and it was necessary to set off immediately to secure 
a safe retreat. 

"The night was so dark that the nearest objects were 
invisible. The firing became nearer and more frequent, 
and the servants of the hacienda, working mechanically, 
managed so that the litera prepared for the General was 
not ready. He therefore mounted his horse, and a servant 
on foot, with a candle, took his place before him, serving as 
a guide to the party, who filed, one after the other, by a 
road which seemed to sink under the feet of the horses. 
It was one of those steep descents, leading down from the 
hill country between Tuzamapan and Orizava. After 
traveling a long time, they halted in the ruins of a small 
sugar-mill, where they awaited the approach of day, when 
they continued their march. 

" Having crossed a river, whose current flowed on to 
meet that of the Junta, they came to the banks of the latter, 
where flowed its waters, placid, blue, and deep, through 
one of its highest ridges. This rose almost perpendicular, 
covered with beautiful, leafy groves, forming an extensive 
border, and at its foot stood many old trees, which, with 



THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 201 

their thick branches, threw a somber hght upon the place 
and gave it an aspect truly majestic. A few fishermen 
who lived there in miserable hovels took them over on a 
small raft, guided by a rope, extending from one shore to 
the other. 

" By winding they ascended the elevation which rises on 
that bank, and finally reached the rancho of Volador, and 
remained long at this place. There, for the first time, 
General Santa Anna broke silence, and in conversation 
expressed the idea of continuing the war with obstinacy, by 
appealing to the last resource which was left us, the system 
of guerrillas. 

"At a short distance from the rancho the road which they 
followed leads amonof most beautiful trees ; and from some 
open spots are seen, now on this side and now on that, 
profound ravines, whose bottom was lost in obscurity, 
caused by the thickness of the dark green foliage of the 
immense groves, covering that region with perpetual spring. 

" The Mexicans, with all their hard fighting, failed to gain 
their point — a victory, and the spell of their discourage- 
ment was not dispelled to the bitter end." 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE BATTLES BI-:F()RE THE CITY OF MEXICO. 

riie United States Proves Herself the Dominant Power of America — The Re- 
markable Campaign Before the City of Mexico — Though Fighting 
Against Powerful Odds the Valor of our Troops Counts for more than 
Superior Numbers — Our Officers Prove Themselves Superior Strategists 
— The Overwhehning Defeat of the Mexicans Compels them to ask For 
an Armistice to Gain Time which is Shortly Followed by Renewed 
Hostilities, soon Terminating in the Surrender of Mexico. 

Ox entering- the palace of the City of Mexico, General 
Scott issued an order saying: "The General-in-chicf calls 
upon his brethren in arms to return both in public and 
private worship, thanks and gratitude to God for the signal 
triumphs which they have recently achieved for their country. 
Beginning with the 19th of August, this army has gallantly 
fought its way through the fields and forts of Contreras, 
San Antonio, Cherubusco, Molino del Rey, Chepultepec 
and the gates of San Casone and Tacubaya of Belen, into 
the Capital of Mexico." 

Tuttle, the historian gives an excellent compilation of 
the official reports of General Worth and makes the battle 
pictures most vivid, uniting this with the Mexican stories 
of l)uena \'ista and Cerro-Gordo, we have a dramatic 
revelation of the greater scenes of the Mexican war — three 
almost incomparable battle pictures. 

"A detachment under General Worth captured Pueblo, on 
the 15th of May, where the army remained until the 7th of 
August, when the whole army marched for the City of 
Mexico. On the afternoon of the third day's march, a 
sudden turn in the route revealed a scene that was well 
calculated to excite the weary soldiers. The whole vast 



THE BATTLES BEFORE THE CITY OF MEXICO. 203 

plain of Mexico was before them. The coldness of the air, 
which was most sensibly felt at this great elevation, their 
fatigue and dangers were forgotten, and their eyes were 
the only sense that thought of enjoyment, Mexico, with 
its lofty steeples and chequered domes, its bright reality, 
and its former fame, its modern splendor and its ancient 
magnificence, was before them, while around on every side 
its thousand lakes seemed like silver stars on a velvet 
mantle. Scott's army encamped that night at the base of 
the mountains with the enemy's scouts on every side. On 
the following day the army halted at Ayotta, only fifteen 
miles from Mexico. We were separated, says one who 
bore the fatigues of the march, from the city by the marshes 
which surround Lake Tezcuco, and by the lake itself. The 
road from this point was commanded by a steep and lofty 
hill called El Pinnal, which had been strongly fortified by 
Santa Anna. Batteries mounting over fifty guns in all, had 
been placed on its sides, and a deep ditch, twenty-four feet 
wide and ten deep, filled with water, had been cut, connect- 
ing the forts already surrounded by marshes. On this side 
Santa Anna had twenty-five thousand men against the 
American force of a little over nine thousand. 

On the 2 2d of August the Americans made a recon- 
noissance of the work, which was pronounced impracticable, 
as the lives of half the troops would be sacrificed before 
the ditch could be crossed. After a lone search another 
road was found which led around on the left, but which was 
guarded with five strong batteries at a point about five 
miles from the city. All approach to the city seemed to be 
cut off, but at length, by means of his scouts, General 
Worth, who was encamped about five miles distant, found 
a path around the left of Lake Chalco, which led to the 
western gate of the city, and which had not yet been forti- 



20 ^ THE BA TTLES BEFORE THE CITY OF MEXICO. 

fied. On the 14th the army commenced its march by this 
route ; on the 19th it arrived at San Juan, Worth's divi- 
sion being considerably in advance. When the Americans 
arrived at this place they received orders to sling their 
blankets across their shoulders, put their knapsacks into 
their wagons, and to put two days' bread and beef in their 
haversacks. When this order came the men knew that the 
work was at hand. The enemy was reported to be in po- 
sition as follows : Santa Anna, with twenty thousand men, 
was at St. Augustine ; Valencia, with ten thousand, was at 
an elevation called Contreras, which commanded the road 
in that direction. It now became Scott's object to drive 
Valencia from his position, and thus get in between Santa 
Anna and the city. With a view to effecting this, General 
Worth was directed to keep Santa Anna in check, while a 
portion of the army under General Twiggs was to rout Va- 
lencia. The progress from this point is thus described by 
one who participated : '=' 

"We left San Juan about i o'clock, not particularly de- 
siring a fight so late in the day, but still not shunning it in 
case we could have a respectable chance. About 2 p. m., 
as we had crawled to the top of a hill, whither we had been 
ourselves pulling Magruder's battery and the mountain 
howitzers, we suddenly espied Valencia fortified on a hill 
about two hundred yards off, and strongly reinforced by 
a column which had just come out of the city. We laid 
down close to avoid drawing their fire, while the battery 
moved past at a full gallop. Just then General Smith's 
manly voice rang out, ' Forward the rifles, to support the 
battery! On they went until we got about eight hundred 
yards from the work, when the enemy opened upon them 
with the long guns, which were afterwards found to be six- 

*"The Mexican War and Its Heroes.'' 



THE BATTLES BEFORE THE CITY OF MEXICO. 20.S 

teen and eight-inch howitzers. The ground was the worst 
possible for artillery, covered with rocks, large and small, 
prickly-pear and cactus, intersected by ditches filled with 
water and lined with maguey-plant, itself imperviable to 
cavalry, and with patches of corn which concealed the 
enemy's skirmishers, while it impeded our own passage. 
The artillery advanced but slowly under a most tremendous 
fire, which greatly injured it before it could be got in range, 
and the thickness of the undergrowth caused the skirmishers, 
thrown forward, to lose their relative position, as well as 
the column. At 4 p. m. the battery got in position under 
a most murderous fire of grape, canister and round-shot. 
Here the superiority of the enemy's pieces rendered our 
fire nugatory. We could get but three pieces in battery, 
while they had twenty- seven, all of them three times the 
calibre of ours. For two hours our troops stood unmoved, 
the storm of iron and lead hailing upon them. At every 
discharge they laid flat down to avoid the storm, and then 
sprung up to serve the guns. At the end of that time, two 
of the guns were dismounted, and we badly hurt ; thirteen of 
the horses were killed and disabled, and fifteen of the cannon- 
iers killed and wounded. The regiment was then recalled. 
The lancers had been repelled in three successive charges. 
The Third Infantry and First Artillery had also engaged 
and successfully repelled the enemy's skirmishers without 
losing either officers or men. The greatest loss had been 
at the batteries. Affairs looked gloomy for the first day's 
fight, but the brigade was formed, and General Smith, in 
person, took command. All felt revived, and followed 
him with a yell, as, creeping low to avoid the grape, which 
was coming very fast, we made a circuit in the rear of the 
batteries ; and, passing off to the right, we were soon lost 
to view in the chaparral and cactus. 



,o6 THE BATTLES BEFORE THE CITY OF MEXICO. 

" Passing over the path that we scrambled through, be- 
hold us at almost six o'clock In the evening, tired, hungry 
and sorrowful, emerging from the chaparral and crossing 
the road between it and Valencia. Here we found Cad- 
walader and his brigade already formed, and discovered 
Riley's brigade skirmishing in rear of enemy's works. 
Valencia was ignorant of our approach, and we were as yet 
safe. He was strongly entrenched on a hillside and sur- 
rounded by a regular field-work. Mendoza, with a 
column of six thousand, was in the road, but thought us to 
be friends. On our right was a large range of hills whose 
continued crest was parallel to the road, and in which were 
formed in line of battle five thousand of the best Mexican 
cavalry. On our left we were separated from our own 
forces by an almost impassable wilderness, and it was now 
twilight. Even Smith looked around for help. Suddenly a 
thousand vivas came across the hillside like the yelling of 
pirate wolves in the dead of night, and the squadrons on 
our right formed for charging. Smith is himself again ! 
' Face to the rear ! ' ' Wait till you see their red caps, and 
then give it to them ! ' Furiously they came on a few yards, 
then changed their minds, and, disgusted at our cool recep- 
tion, retired to their couches. 

" On the edge of the road, between us and Valencia, a 
Mexican hamlet spread out, with its mud huts, large 
orchards, deep-cut roads, and a strong church ; and through 
the centre of this hamlet ran a path parallel to the main 
road, but concealed from it ; it is nearly a mile long. In 
this road Smith's and Riley's corps bivouacked. Shields, 
who came up in the night, lay in the orchard, while Cadwal- 
ader was nearest the enemy's works. As we were within 
range of their batteries, which could enfilade the road in 
which we lay, we built a stone breastwork at either end to 



THE BA TTLES BEFORE THE CITY OF MEXICO. 



207 



conceal ourselves from their view and grape. There we 
were, completely surrounded by the enemy, cut off from 
our communications, ignorant of the ground, without artil- 
lery, weary, dispirited and dejected. We were a disheart- 
ened set. With Santa Anna and Sala's promise of 'no 
quarter,' a force of four to one against us, and one-half 
defeated already, no succor from Puebla, and no news 
from General Scott, all seemed dark. Suddenly the words 
came whispered along, ' We stoi-m at midnigJit.' Now we 
are ourselves a^ain ! But what a horrible niorht ! There 

o o 

we lay, too tired to eat, too wet to sleep, in the middle of 
that muddy road, officers and men side by side, with a heavy 
rain pouring down upon us, the officers without blankets or 
overcoats (they had lost them in coming across), and the 
men worn out with fatiofue. About midnight the rain was 
so heavy that the streams in the road flooded us, and there 
we stood crowded together, drenched and benumbed, 
waiting for daylight. 

" At half-past three the word 'fall in ' was passed down, 
and we commenced our march. The enemy's works were 
on a hillside, behind which rose other and slightly higher 
hills, separated by deep ravines and gullies, and intersected 
by streams. The whole face of the country was of stiff 
clay, which rendered it almost impossible to advance. We 
formed our line about a quarter of a mile from the enemy's 
works, Riley's brigade on our right. At about four we 
started, winding through a thick orchard which effectually 
concealed us, even had it not been dark, debouching into a 
deep ravine, which ran within about five hundred yards of the 
work, and which carried us directly in rear and out of sight 
of their batteries. At dawn of day we reached our place, 
after incredible exertions, and got ready for our charge. 
The men threw off their wet blankets and looked to their 



2o8 THE BA TTLES BEFORE THE CITY OF MEXICO. 

pieces, while the officers got ready for a rush, and the first 
smile that Ht up our faces for twelve hours boded but little 
good for the Mexicans. On the right, and opposite the 
right of their work, was Riley's brigade of the Second and 
First Infantry and Fourth Artillery, next the rifles, then the 
First Artillery and Third Infantry. In rear of our left was 
Cadvvalader's brigade, as a support, with Shield's brigade 
in the rear as a reserve — the whole division under com- 
mand of General Smith, in the absence of General Twiggs. 
They had a smooth place to rush down on the enemy's 
work, with the brow of the hill to keep under until the word 
was given. 

"At last, just at daylight, General Smith, slowly walking 
up, asked if all was ready. A look answered him : 'Meit, 
forwaj'd !' — and we did 'forward.' Springing up at once, 
•Riley's brigade opened, when the crack of a hundred rifles 
startled the Mexicans from their astonishment, and they 
opened their fire. Useless fire, for we were so close that 
they overshot us, and before they could turn their pieces on 
us we were on them. Then such cheers arose as you never 
heard. The men rushed forward like demons, yelling and 
firing the while. The carnage was frightful, and though 
they fired sharply, it was of no use. The earthen parapet 
was cleared in an instant, and the blows of the stocks could 
be plainly heard mingled with the yells and groans around. 
Just before the charge was made a large body of lancers 
came winding up the road, looking most splendidly in their 
brilliant uniforms. They never got to the work, but turned 
and fled. In an instant all was one mass of confusion, each 
trying to be foremost in the flight. The road was literally 
blocked up. and while many perished by their own guns, it 
was almost impossible to fire on the mass from the danger 
of killing our own men. Some fled up the ravine on die 



THE BA TTLES BEFORE THE CITY OF MEXICO. 209 

left, or on the right, and many of these were slain by turn- 
ing their own guns on them. Towards the city the rifles 
and Second Infantry led off the pursuit. Seeing that a 
large crowd of the fugitives were jammed up in a pass in 
the road some of our men ran through the cornfield, and 
thus, by heading them off and firing down upon them, 
about thirty men took over five hundred prisoners, nearly 
a hundred of them officers. After disarming the prisoners, 
as the pursuit had ceased, we went back to the fort, where 
we found our troops in full possession, the rout com- 
plete. 

" We found that the enemy's position was much stronger 
than we had supposed, and their artillery much larger and 
more abundant. Our own loss was small, which may be 
accounted for by their perfect surprise at our charge, as to 
them we appeared as if rising out of the earth, so unper- 
ceived was our approach. Our loss was one officer killed. 
Captain Hanson, of the Seventh Infantry, and Lieutenant 
Van Buren, of the rifles, shot through the leg, and about 
fifty men killed and wounded. Their force consisted of 
about eight thousand men, under Valencia, with a reserve 
which had not yet arrived, under Santa Anna. Their loss, 
as since ascertained, was as follows : killed and buried in 
the field, seven hundred and fifty ; wounded, one thousand ; 
and fifteen hundred prisoners, exclusive of officers, includ- 
ing four generals — Salas, Mendoza, Garcia and Guadalupe 
— in addition to dozens of colonels, majors, captains, etc. 
We captured, in all, on the hill twenty-two pieces of cannon, 
including- five eieht-inch howitzers, two lono- eiahteens, three 
long sixteens, and several of twelve and eight inches. In 
addition to these were taken immense quantities of ammu- 
nition and muskets ; in fact, the way was strewn with 
muskets, escopets, lances and flags for miles. Large quan- 



210 



THE BATTLES BEFORE THE CITY OF MEXICO. 



titles of horses and mules were also captured, though large 
numbers were killed. 

"Thus ended the glorious battle of Contreras, in which 
two thousand men, under Gen. P. F. Smith, completely 
routed and destroyed an army of eight thousand men, under 
General Valencia, with Santa Anna and a force of twenty 
thousand men within five miles. Their army was so com- 
pletely routed that not fifteen hundred men rejoined Santa 
Anna and participated in the second battle. Most people 
would have thought that, a pretty good day's work. Not 
so. We had only saved ourselves, not conquered Mexico, 
and men's work was before us yet. 

"At eight A. M. we formed again, and General Twiggs 
having taken command, we started on the road to Mexico. 
We had hardly marched a mile before we were sharply 
fired upon from both sides of the road, and our right was 
deployed to drive the enemy in. We soon found that we 
had caught up with the retreating party, from the very 
brisk firing in front, and we drove them through the litde 
town of San Angelo, where they had been halting in force. 
About half-a-mile from this town we entered the suburbs 
of another, called San Katherina, when a large party in the 
churchyard fired on the head of the column, and the balls 
came right among us. Our men kept rushing on their 
rear and cutting them down, until a discharge of grapeshot 
from a large piece in front drove them back to the column. 
In this short space of time five men were killed, ten taken 
prisoners, and a small color captured, which was carried 
the rest of the day. 

" Meanwhile General Worth had made a demonstration 
on San Antonio, where the enemy was fortified in a strong 
hacienda ; but they retired on his approach to Cherubusco, 
where the works were deemed impregnable. They con- 



THE BATTLES BEFORE THE CITY OF MEXICO. 211 

sisted of a fortified hacienda, which was surrounded by a 
high and thick wall on all sides. Inside the wall was a stone 
building, the roof of which was flat, and higher than the 
walls. Above all this was a stone church, still higher than 
the rest, and having a large steeple. The wall was pierced 
with loop-holes, and so arranged that there were two tiers 
of men firing at the same time. They thus had four differ- 
ent ranges of men firing at once, and four ranks were 
formed on each range, and placed at such a height that 
they could not only overlook all the surrounding country, 
but at the same time they had a plunging fire upon us. 
Outside the hacienda, and completely commanding the 
avenues of approach, was a field-work extending around 
two sides of the fort, and protected by a deep, wet ditch, 
and armed with seven large pieces. This hacienda is at 
the commencement of the causeway leading to the western 
gate of the city, and had to be passed before getting on the 
road. About three hundred yards in the rear of this work 
another field-work had been built where a cross-road meets 
the causeway, at a point where it crosses a river, thus 
forming a bridge-head, or tete de pout. This was also very 
strong, and armed with three large pieces of cannon. The 
works were surrounded on every side by large cornfields, 
which were filled with the enemy's skirmishers, so that it 
was difficult to make a reconnoissance. It was, therefore, 
decided to make the attack immediately, as they were full 
of men, and extended for nearly a mile on the road to the 
city, completely covering the causeway. 

" The attack commenced about i p. m. General Twiggs' 
division attacked on the side towards which they ap- 
proached the fort ; that is, opposite the city. General 
Worth's attacked the bridge-head, which he took in about 
an hour and a half; while Generals Pillow and Quitman 



212 THE BATTLES BEFORE THE CITY OF MEXICO. 

were on the extreme left, between the causeway and 
Ouio-o-s' division. The rifles were on the left and in the 
rear of the work, entrusted by General Scott with the task 
of charging it in case General Pierce gave way. The firing 
was most tremendous — in fact one continued roll while the 
combat lasted. The enemy, from their elevated station, 
could readily see our men, who were unable to get a clear 
view from their position. Three of the pieces were manned 
by 'the deserters,' a body of about one hundred, who had 
deserted from the ranks of our army during the war. They 
were enrolled in two companies, commanded by a deserter, 
and were better uniformed and disciplined than the rest of 
the army. These men fought most desperately, and are 
said not only to have shot down several of our officers 
whom they knew, but to have pulled down the white flag 
of surrender no less than three times. 

"The battle raged most furiously for about three hours, 
when, both sides having lost a great many, the enemy be- 
gan to give way. As soon as they commenced retreating, 
Kearney's squadron passed through the tete de pont, and, 
charging through the retreating column, pursued them to 
the very gate of the city. When our men got within about 
five hundred yards of the gate they were opened upon 
with grape and canister, and several officers wounded. 
The official returns give our loss in killed and wounded at 
one thousand one hundred and fifty, besides officers. The 
Mexican loss was five hundred killed in the second battle, 
one thousand wounded, and eleven hundred prisoners, ex- 
clusive of officers. Three more generals were taken, among 
them General Rincon, and Anaya, the Provisional Presi- 
dent ; also ten pieces of cannon and an immense amount 
of ammunition and stores. Santa Anna in his report states 
his loss in killed, wounded and missing at twelve thousand. 



THE BATTLES BEFORE THE CITY OF MEXICO. 213 

He has only eighteen thousand left out of thirty thousand, 
which he gives as his force on the 20th in both actions. 

"Thus ended the battle of Cherubusco, one of the most 
furious and deadly for its length, of any of the war. For 
reasons which he deemed conclusive, General Scott did not 
enter the city that night, but encamped on the battle-field, 
about four miles from the western gate of the city. The 
next day a flag of truce came out, and propositions were 
made which resulted in an armistice." 

An armistice was concluded on the 24th of August be- 
tween General Scott and President Santa Anna, with a view 
of terminating the war and effecting a treaty of peace. 
Negotiations were at once commenced, but terminated on 
the 7th of September, when both armies assumed hostile 
attitudes. On the date last mentioned a large body of Mexi- 
cans was discovered hovering about Molino del Rey, within 
a mile of the American camp and General Scott's headquar- 
ters. General Worth was at once ordered to attack the 
enemy at this point, and, his division being reinforced, he 
moved forward to battle. The position of the Mexicans 
was well taken. Their left rested upon and occupied a group 
of strong stone buildings, called El Molino del Rey, adjoin- 
ing the grove at the foot of the hill of Chapultepec, and 
directly under the guns of the castle which crowned its 
summit. The right of his line rested upon another stone 
building, called Casa Mata, situated at the foot of the ridge 
that slopes gradually from the heights above the village of 
Tacubaya to the plain below. Midway between these build- 
ings was the enemy's field battery, and their infantry forces 
were disposed on either side to support it. "The early 
dawn," says Worth, "was the moment appointed for the 
attack, which was announced to the troops by the opening 
of Huger's guns on El Molino del Rey, upon which they 



2 14 THE BATTLES BEFORE THE CITY OF MEXICO. 

continued to play actively until this point of the enemy's 
lines became sensibly shaken when the assaulting- party, 
commanded by Wright, and guided by that accomplished 
officer, Captain Mason, of the engineers, assisted by Lieu- 
tenant Foster, dashed gallantly forward to the assault." 

=•= " Unshaken by the galling fire of musketry and canister 
that was showered upon them, on they rushed, driving the 
infantry and artillerymen at the point of the bayonet. The 
enemy's field battery was taken, and their own guns were 
trained upon the retreating masses ; before, however, they 
could be discharged, perceiving that they had been dispos- 
sessed of this strong position by comparatively a handful of 
men, the enemy made a desperate effort to regain it. Accord- 
ingly, their retiring forces rallied and formed with this object. 
Aided by the infantry, which covered the house-tops (within 
reach of which the battery had been moved during the night), 
the enemy's whole line opened upon the assaulting party a 
terrific fire of musketry, which struck down eleven out oi four- 
teen officers that composed the command, and non-commis- 
sioned officers and men in proportion, including among the 
officers Brevet-Major Wright, the commander ; Captain 
Mason and Lieutenant Forster, engineers, all severely 
wounded. This severe shock staggered, for a moment, that 
gallant band. The light battalion held to cover Huger's 
battery, under Captain E. Kirby Smith, and the right wing 
of Cadwalader's brigade, were promptly ordered forward to 
support, which order was executed in the most gallant style ; 
the enemy was again routed, and this point of their line car- 
ried and fully possessed by our troops. In the meantime 
Garland's brigade, ably sustained by Captain Drum's artil- 
lery, assaulted the enemy's left, and, after an obstinate and 
very severe contest, drove them from this apparendy impreg- 

^Ciencral Worth's report. 



THE BATTLES BEFORE THE CITY OF MEXICO. 215 

nable position, immediately under the guns of the castle of 
Chepultepec. Drum's section and the battering guns under 
Captain Huger advanced to the enemy's position, and the 
captured guns of the enemy were now opened on their re- 
treating forces, on which they continued to fire until beyond 
their reach. 

While this work was in progress of accomplishment by 
the centre and right, the troops on the left were not idle. 
Duncan's battery opened on the right of the enemy's line, 
up to this time engaged, and the Second brigade, under 
Colonel Mcintosh, was now ordered to assault the extreme 
right of the enemy's line. The direction of this brigade 
soon caused it to mask Duncan's battery, the fire of which, 
for the moment, was discontinued, and the brigade moved 
steadily on to the assault of Casa Mata, which, instead of 
an ordinary field entrenchment, as was supposed, proved to 
be a strone stone citadel, surrounded with bastioned en- 
trenchments and impassable ditches, an old Spanish work, 
recently repaired and enlarged. When within easy musket 
range the enemy opened a most deadly fire upon the ad- 
vancing troops, which was kept up, without intermission, 
until the gallant men reached the very slope of the parapet 
of the work that surrounded the citadel. By this time a 
large proportion of the command was either killed or 
wounded, among whom were the three senior officers pres- 
ent, Brevet-Colonel Mcintosh, Brevet-Lieutenant-Colonel 
Scott, of the Fifth Infantry, and Major Waite, Eighth Infan- 
try ; the second killed and the first and last desperately 
wounded. Still the fire from the citadel was unabated. In 
this crisis of the attack, the command was momentarily 
thrown into disorder and fell back on the left of Duncan's 
battery, where they rallied. As the Second brigade moved 
to the assault a very large cavalry and infantry force was 



21 6 THE BATTLES BEFORE THE CITY OF MEXICO. 

discovered approaching rapidly upon the left flank to re- 
intorce the enemy's right. 

As soon as Duncan's battery was masked, as before 
mentioned, supported by Andrews's voltigeurs, of Cad- 
walader's brigade, it moved promptly to the extreme left 
of the line to check the threatened assault on this point. 
The enemy's cavalry came rapidly widiin canister range, 
when the whole battery opened a most effective fire, which 
soon broke the squadrons and drove them back in disorder. 
During this fire upon the enemy's cavalry, Major Sumner's 
command moved to the front, and changed direction in 
admirable order, under a most appalling fire from the Casa 
Mata. This movement enabled his command to cross the 
ravine immediately on the left of Duncan's battery, where 
it remained, doincr noble service until the close of the 
action. At the very moment the cavalry were driven be- 
yond reach, the American troops drew back from the Casa 
Mata, and enabled the guns of Duncan's battery to re-open 
upon this position, which, after a short and well-directed 
fire, the enemy abandoned. The guns of the battery were 
now turned upon the retreating columns. 

The Mexicans were now driven from every point of the 
field, and their strong lines, which had certainly been de- 
fended well, were in Worth's possession. In fulfillment of 
the instructions of General Scott, the Casa Mata was blown 
up, and such of the captured ammunition as was useless to 
the Americans, as well as the cannon-moulds found in El 
Molino del Rey, were destroyed. After which, Worth's 
command, under the orders of the General-in-chief, returned 
to quarters at Tacubaya, with three of the enemy's four 
guns, as also a large quantity of small arms, with gun and 
musket ammunition, and exceeding eight hundred prison- 
ers, including fifty-two commissioned officers. By the con- 




LAST SALUTE TO THE HAWAIIAN FLAG. 




THE HAWAIIAN FLAG HAULED DOWN. AUGUST i2TH, li 





HAWAII. — Last Caiunf.t Meeting. — Police Force of Honolulu 
Swearing Allegiance to the United States. 



THE BATTLES BEFORE THE CITY OF MEXICO. 



219 



current testimony of prisoners, the enemy's force exceeded 
four thousand men, commanded by General Santa Anna in 
person. His total loss, killed (including the second and 
third in command. Generals Valdarez and Leon), wounded, 
and prisoners, amounted to three thousand, exclusive of 
some two thousand who deserted after the rout. Worth's 
command, reinforced as before stated, only reached three 
thousand one hundred men of all arms. The contest con- 
tinued two hours, and its severity was painfully attested by 
the heavy loss of American officers, non-commissioned 
officers and privates, including in the first two classes some 
of the brightest men of the service. 

A series of battles of forty-eight hours' continuance fol- 
lowed Worth's triumph at Molino del Rey, after which, on 
the 14th of September, 1847, General Scott's glorious 
army hoisted the flag of the United States on the walls of 
the National Palace of Mexico. 

The President of the Mexican Congress assumed provis- 
ional authority on February 2, 1848, and that body con- 
cluded a Treaty of Peace with the United States commis- 
sioners at Guadaloupe-Hidalgo. This treaty was ratified 
by both governments on July 4, 1848. It stipulated the 
evacuation of Mexico by the American troops within three 
months; the payment of $15,000,000 by the United States 
to Mexico for New Mexico and California, which had be- 
come territories of the United States by conquest. 

In 1853 the maps on which the former treaties with 
Mexico had been based were found incorrect, and Santa 
Anna sent an army to occupy the territory involved. A 
second Mexican War seemed imminent. The difficulty was 
adjusted, however, by the purchase of the doubtful claim 
from Mexico for $10,000,000. This transaction was known 
as the Gadsden Purchase. 
13 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE ACQUISITION OF ALASKA. 

Our Great Territorial Purchase from Russia— The Great Bargain of Seward 
and Sumner Extending our Dominion into the Polar Regions and Asiatic 
Waters— An Immense and Significant Enlargement of our Area of 
Empire. 

We quote from the works of Charles Sumner: "Late 
in the evening of Friday, March 29, 1867, Mr. Sumner, on 
reaching home, found this note from Mr. Seward awaiting 
him : ' Can you not come to my house this evening ? I 
have a matter of pubHc business in regard to which it is 
desirable that I should confer with you at once.' Without 
delay he hurried to the house of the Secretary of State, 
only to find that the latter had left for the Department. 
His son, the Assistant Secretary, was at home, and he was 
soon joined by Mr. De Stoeckl, the Russian Minister. 
From the two Mr. Sumner learned, for the first time, that a 
treaty was about to be signed for the cession of Russian- 
America to the United States. With a map in his hand, 
the minister, who had just returned from St. Petersburg, 
explained the proposed boundary according to verbal in- 
structions from the Archduke, Constantine, After a brief 
conversation when Mr. Sumner inquired and listened, with- 
out expressing an opinion, they left together, the Minister 
on his way to the Department, where the treaty was copy- 
ing. The clock was striking midnight as they parted, 
the Minister saying with interest, ' You will not fail us.' 
The treaty was signed about four o'clock in the morning of 

22Q 



THE ACQUISITION OF ALASKA. 221 

March 30th, being the last day of the current session of 
Congress, and on the same day it was transmitted to the 
Senate, and referred to the Committee on Foreign Rela- 
tions. 

" April I St, the Senate was convened in Executive session 
by the proclamation of the President of the United States, 
and the committee proceeded to the consideration of the 
treaty. The committee, at the time, consisted of Messrs. 
Sumner (chairman), Fessenden, of Maine ; Cameron, of 
Pennsylvania ; Harlan, of Iowa ; Morton, of Indiana ; Patter- 
son, of New Hampshire, and Reverdy Johnson, of Mary- 
land. Carefully and anxiously they considered the ques- 
tion, and meanwhile it was being discussed outside. Among 
friendly influences, was a strong pressure from Hon. Thad- 
deus Stevens, the acknowledged leader of the House, who, 
though without constitutional voice on the ratification of a 
treaty, could not restrain his earnest testimony. Mr. Sumner 
was controlled less by a desire for more territory, than by a 
sense of the amity of Russia, manifested especially during 
our recent troubles, and by an unwillingness to miss the 
opportunity of dismissing another European sovereign from 
our continent, predestined, as he believed, to become the 
broad, undivided home of the American people ; and these 
he developed in his remarks before the Senate." 

A Russian translation, by Mr. Buynitzky, appeared at 
St. Petersburg, with an introduction, whose complimentary 
character is manifest in its opening ; 

" Senator Charles Sumner, of Massachusetts, appears, 
since the election of Lincoln, as one of the most eloquent 
and conspicuous representatives of the Republican party. 
His name stands in the first rank of the zealous propaga- 
tors of Abolitionism, and all his political activity is directed 
toward one object, — the completion of the glorious act of 



THE ACQUISITION OF ALASKA. 

enfranchisement of five millions of citizens, by a series of 
laws calculated to secure to freedmen, the actual possession 
of civil and political rights. As chairman of the Senate 
Committee upon Foreign Relations, Mr. Sumner attentively 
watches the march of affairs in Europe generally; but, in 
the course of the present decade, his particular attention 
was attracted by the reforms which took place in Russia. 
The emancipation of the peasants in our country was 
viewed with the liveliest sympathy by the American states- 
man, and this sympathy expressed itself eloquently in his 
speeches, delivered on various occasions, as well in Con- 
gress as in the State Conventions of Massachusetts." 

o 

THE CESSION OF RUSSIAN-AMERICA TO THE UNITED STATES. 

Speech in the Senate on the Ratification of the Treaty 
between the United States and Russia, April 9, 1867. 

"Thirteen governments founded on the natural authority 
of the people alone, without a pretense of miracle or mys- 
tery, and which ai^e destined to spread over the northern part 
of that zuhole quarter of the globe, are a great point gained 
in favor of the rights of mankind." — John Adams, Preface to 
his Defence of the American Constitutions. 

BOUNDARIES AND CONFIGURATION. 

" Starting from the frozen ocean, the western boundary 
descends Behring Strait, midway between the two islands 
of Krusenstern and Ratmanoff, to the parallel of 65-30, 
just below where the continents of America and Asia ap- 
proac'i each other the nearest ; and from this point it pro- 
ceeds in a course nearly southwest through Behring Strait, 
mic'way between the island of St. Lawrence and Cape 
Chukotski, to the meridian of 172° west longitude, and 
thL'nce, in a southwesterly direction, traversing Behring 
Sea, midway between the island of Attoo, on the east and 



THE ACQUISITION OF ALASKA. 223 

Copper Island on the west, to the meridian of 193° west 
longitude, leaving the prolonged group of the Aleutian 
Islands in the possessions transferred to the United States, 
and making the western boundary of our country the divid- 
ing line which separates Asia from America. 

" Look at the map and observe the configuration of this 
extensive region, whose estimated area is more than five 
hundred and seventy thousand square miles. I speak by 
authority of our own coast survey. Including the Sitkan 
Archipelago at the south, it takes a margin of the mainland 
fronting on the ocean thirty miles broad and five hundred 
miles long to Mt. St. Elias, the highest peak of the conti- 
nent, when it turns with an elbow to the west, and along 
Behring Strait northerly, then rounding to the east along 
the frozen ocean. 

" In the Aleutian range, besides innumerable islets and 
rocks, there are not less than fifty-five islands exceeding 
three miles in length ; there are seven exceeding forty 
miles, with Oonimak, which is the largest, exceeding sev- 
enty-three miles. In our part of Behring Sea there are five 
considerable islands, the largest of which is St. Lawrence, 
being more than ninety-six miles long. Add to all these 
the group south of the peninsula of Alaska, including the 
Shumagins and the magnificent island of Kadiak, and then 
the Sitkan group, being archipelago added to archipelago, 
and the whole together constituting the geographical com- 
plement to the West Indies, so that the northwest of the 
continent answers to the southeast, archipelago for archi- 
pelago. 

" I cannot doubt that the enlightened Emperor of Russia, 
who has given pledges to civilization by an unsurpassed 
act of emancipation, would join the first Napoleon in a 
desire to enhance the maritime power of the United States." 



224 THE ACQUISITION OF ALASKA. 

[This reference by Charles Sumner refers to the Louisiana 
purchase.] 

THE TREATY. 

" The treaty begins with the declaration that ' the United 
States of America and his Majesty the Emperor of all 
the Russias, being desirous of strengthening, if possible, 
the good understanding which exists between them,' 
hav^e appointed plenipotentiaries who have proceeded to 
sign articles wherein it is stipulated on behalf of Russia 
that ' his Majesty, the Emperor of all the Russias, 
agrees to cede to the United States by this conv^ention, 
immediately upon the exchange of the ratification thereof, 
all the territory and dominion now possessed by his said 
Majesty on the continent of America and in the adjacent 
islands, the same being contained within the geographical 
limits herein set forth ; ' and it is stipulated on behalf of 
the United States, that ' in consideration of the cession 
aforesaid, the United States agree to pay at the Treasury 
in Washington, within ten months after the exchange of the 
ratifications of this conv^ention, to the diplomatic represen- 
tative or other agent of his Majesty the Emperor of all the 
Russias, duly authorized to receive the same, $7,200,000 
in gold.' The ratifications are to be exchanged within 
three months from the date of the treaty, or sooner if 
possible."''' 

Mr. Sumner said : " Beyond the consideration founded 
on the desire of ' strengthening the good understanding ' 
between the two countries, there is the pecuniary consider- 
ation already mentioned which underwent a change in the 
progress of the negotiation. The sum of seven millions 
was originally agreed upon ; but when it appeared that 

* United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XV., pp. 539-543. 



THE ACQUISITION OF ALASKA. 225 

there was a fur company and also an ice company enjoyino- 
monopolies under the existnig government, it was thought 
best that these should be extinguished, in consideration of 
which our Government added two hundred thousand to the 
purchase-money, and the Russian Government in formal 
terms declared ' the cession of territory and dominion to 
be free and unincumbered by any reservations, privileges, 
franchises, grants or possessions, by any associated com- 
panies, whether corporate or incorporate, Russian or any 
other, or by any parties, except merely private individual 
property-holders.' Thus the United States receive the 
cession free of all incumbrances, so far, at least, as Russia 
is in a condition to make it. The treaty proceeds to say : 
"The cession hereby made conveys all the rights, fran- 
chises and privileges now belonging to Russia in the said 
territory or dominion and appurtenances thereto," In other 
words, Russia conveys all she has to convey. 

"Department of State, Washington, March 23, 1867. 

" Sir : — With reference to the proposed convention between our respective 
governments for a cession by Russia of her American territory to the United 
States, I have the honor to acquaint you that I must insist upon that clause in 
the sixth article of the draft which declares the cession to be free and unincum- 
bered by any reservations, privileges, franchises, grants, or possessions by any 
associated companies, whether corporate or incorporate, Russian or any other, 
etc., and must regard it as an ultimatum. With the President's approval, how- 
ever, I will add $200,oooto the consideration money on that account. 

" I avail myself of this occasion to offer you a renewed assurance of my most 
distinguished consideration. " William H. Seward. 

''Mr. Edward de Stoeckl, etc., etc., etc." 

TRANSLATION. 

"Washington, March 17 (29), 1867. 
" Mr. Secretary of State — I have the honor to inform you, that, by a tel- 
egram, dated i6th (28th) of this month, from St. Petersburg, Prince Gortchakofif 
informs me that his Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias gives his consent 
to the cession of the Russian possessions on the American continent to the 
United States, for the stipulated sum of f 7, 200,000 in gold, and that his Majesty 
the Emperor invests me with full powers to negotiate and sign the treaty. 



226 THE ACQUISITION OF ALASKA. 

" Please accept, Mr, Secretary of State, the assurance of my very high consid- 
eration. " Stoeckl. 
'•To Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States." 

" Territorial acquisitions are among the landmarks of our 
history. In 1803, Louisiana, embracing the valley of the 
Mississippi, was acquired from FVance for fifteen million 
dollars. In 1819 Florida was acquired from Spain for 
about three million dollars. In 1845 Texas Avas annexed 
without purchase, but subsequently, under the compromise 
of 1850, an allowance of twelve and three-fourths million 
dollars was made to her. In 1848, California, New Mex- 
ico, and Utah were acquired from Mexico after war, and 
on payment of fifteen million dollars. In 1854 Arizona was 
acquired from Mexico for ten million dollars. And now it 
is proposed to acquire Russian America. 

"The passion for acquisition, so strong in the individual, 
is not less strong in the community. A nation seeks an 
outlying territory, as an individual seeks an outlying farm. 
The passion shows itself constantly. France, passing into 
Africa, has annexed Algeria. Spain set her face in the 
same direction, but without the same success." 

There was a great deal of opposition to this great 
achievement. Mr. Sumner, in his later years, saw new 
glories in this great country of ours, and yet in vindicating 
the purchase of Alaska, his tone became almost apologetic, 
but he did not flinch from the main question and purpose, 
the imperial enlargement of our landed possessions. Sec- 
retary Seward was one of the broadest-minded statesmen 
America has produced, and yet he forced conditions upon 
Russia that might have lost, to the nation, the vast endow- 
ment of the American people for the hereafter, gained in the 
Arctic purchase. Practically this was going beyond seas, and 
was a bold precedent for the ambitious policy that now sends 
fleets and armies to occupy and possess tropical islands. 



CHAPTER XV. 

HAWAII, OUR FIRST PACIFIC COLONY. 

The Old Royalties — Establishing the Republic — Annexation and the Sugar Interests — 
Japan and the Hawaiian Government — Hawaii the Ally of the United States in 
our War with Spain — Our Campaign in the Philippines Rendered Less Difficult 
— Pacific Slope Interest in American Expansion — American Homes in Hawaii — 
The Climate, Education, and Native Characteristics. 

Under Kam6hameha I. the Hawaiian or Sandwich 
Islands were united into one kingdom. The second kinor 
of that name and his queen died in England, 1823. Under 
Kam6ham6ha III. the integrity of the kingdom was recog- 
nized by England, France, and the United States, and sub- 
sequently by other Governments. This king gave his sub- 
jects a constitution in 1840, which was revised and ex- 
tended in 1852, and on his death in 1854, he was succeeded 
by his nephew, Kamehameha IV., the husband of Queen 
Emma, who died in 1863. His brother, Kamehameha V., 
succeeded, and proclaimed a revised constitution, August 
20, 1864. On his death in 1872, without issue, Prince 
Lunalilo was chosen, on whose death in 1874 Kalakaua 
was elected king, and he was succeeded January 20, 1891, 
by Liliuokalani, his eldest sister. 

On January 15, 1893, in consequence of a disagreement 
between the Queen and her Cabinet regarding a new con- 
stitution, a Committee of Public Safety was formed which, 
two days later, issued a proclamation declaring that the 
Hawaiian monarchical system was abrogated, and that a 
provisional government had been established. 

A deputation was sent to Washington to ask the United 

227 



228 HAWAII, OUR FIRST PACIFIC COLONY. 

States Government to annex the Islands. The United 
States, however, refused, and on July 4, 1894, the constitu- 
tional convention at Honolulu declared the Republic of 
Hawaii, and elected Mr. Dole as its first President. At 
the same time a movement was inaugurated with the object 
of the annexation of these Islands to the United States be- 
fore they should fall into the hands of England, Germany, 
or Japan. 

The annexation project was strenuously opposed by the 
Sugar Trust, which succeeded, for a number of years, in 
holding up legislative action on this question. 

In 1897 ^'^^ large and rapid inpouring of Japanese indi- 
cated that Japan was making preparations for annexation, 
and the Hawaiian Government refused to admit several 
large bodies of colonists, compelling the Japanese steamers, 
which brought them, to transport them back to their native 
country. The Japanese Government thereupon dispatched 
two war-ships to Honolulu. This led to a revival of the 
annexation movement in the United States, and the war 
with Spain brought the matter to a final conclusion. 

The attitude of President Dole, his Cabinet, and the 
Hawaiian Congress, on the outbreak of war against Spain, 
was deserving of admiration. The Hawaiian Government 
made itself the ally of the United States, and our campaign 
in the Philippine Islands would have been rendered doubly 
difficult if the Hawaiian authorities had observed the rules 
of neutrality. We were accorded as much liberty to make 
use of islands for our purposes in the Pacific, as w^e were 
exercising in the West Indian campaign at Key West. To 
have refused to allow the Hawaiian Islands to enjoy the 
security that would come to them from the protection of 
the American flag, under such circumstances, would have 
been more than ungracious. The House of Representa- 



HAWAII, OUR FIRST PACIFIC COLONY. 229 

tives promptly passed a resolution in favor of annexation 
on June 15th. 

In the Senate there was some opposition, and it was not 
until the 6th of July that a two-thirds vote was secured. 

On the same day President McKinley signed the resolu- 
tion passed by Congress for the annexation, and the U. S. 
cruiser PJiiladelphia was ordered to Honolulu to raise the 
American Flag over the Islands. 

It is questionable whether the dwellers in the Mississippi 
Valley and the Gulf States, and along the Atlantic slope, 
comprehend the fervor of public sentiment in the Pacific 
and the further Rocky Mountain States concerning our 
new possessions — the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippine 
Archipelagoes, * 

The majestic sweep of the waters between America and 
Asia is so vast that to the common human understandingr 
there is a feeling that they never have been explored, and 
that there are abysses of mystery the secrets of which shall 
be revealed only when those gigantic wastes of waves shall 
have become as familiar to our people as the narrower 
spread of the Adantic. The Hawaiian group has been so 
long in the public eye that there is not a general realiza- 
tion that it is as far from the Californian coast as the dis- 
tance between Newfoundland and Ireland. We know a 
good deal about Honolulu, but not much beyond reports 
of missionary labors, and statistics of commerce, and the 
stories of tragedy and strange romance, forming a shadowy 
but fascinating history, of the various islands composing 
the Paradise of the Pacific. e 

Honolulu is a tropical city, and yet in spite of the palm 
trees, which are not indigenous, and the volcanic mountains 
standing about, the coral rocks, the phenomenal mingling 
of races, and queer peculiarities of dress, it has an Ameri- 



230 HAWAII, OUR FIRST PACIFIC COLONY. 

can appearance in the business quarters, and decidedly a 
New England fashion of churches. There is an old church 
built by the native Christians with blocks of lava that is 
not of this type, but the church spires vividly recall those 
seen in Connecticut towns, and if the tropical trees and 
veoetation could be removed, and the streets decorated 
with elms, the likeness to New England cities of like pro- 
portions would become starding — all but the people, of 
whom there is a variety. The majority of the inhabitants 
do not look as much like Americans as one could wish, but 
there was a flame of flags of our country over the roofs 
after the news of annexation came, and, to a considerable 
extent, before, that pleased the eye, kindled the fancy, and 
enriched the imagination ; but there was still unhappiness 
about the royalties, when officially the Hawaiian flag came 
down and the Stars and Stripes went up. The Princess, a 
Scotchman's dauo^hter, is a clever oirl whose orood manners 
toward Americans have made her popular, and many of 
the annexationists would approve granting her a liberal 
pension. The old Queen is not a favorite, and there are 
no open advocates, except those overthrown with her, of 
doing anything for her. Mr. Claghorn, the father of the 
Princess, is a gray-haired gentleman, now engaged largely 
in coffee growing, and distinguished for his extensive plant- 
ing of new trees. He is naturally mournful about the dis- 
inheritance of his daughter, whose mother was, it will be 
recalled, sister to the old Queen, Liliuokalani. Sunday 
observance is a notable feature in Honolulu, and there is a 
strain of intense temperance sentiment, so positive and 
aggressive that those who give wine at their tables are not 
comfortable when the missionaries drop in and find a botde 
of a beverage that intoxicates, losing its liquor in course of 
consumption. There were a few of the old royal party 



HAWAII, OUR FIRS7 PACIFIC COLONY. 231 

full of ancient animosity, fierce in threatenings when the 
consummation of annexation came to pass. One half-caste 
woman went so far as to talk of harminor the house of Dr. 
McGrew, who is credited with being the foremost and most 
persistent advocate of annexation. There will be no 
trouble of a serious nature, but Americans are much 
divided, both as to policy and persons, and the solid mass 
of annexationists, having accomplished their object, are 
divided on many questions, so much so that they should 
not be hastened to conclusions in local ororanization, and 
the application of the forces of our Government, so that the 
assimilation of the political and legal condition of the 
islands, with the currents of sentiment, and the particulars 
and processes of the enforcement of national laws, may 
proceed without agitation. Time is a great solvent, as in 
the case of the sugar question, the important phase of 
which is the system of serfdom behind the importation of 
Chinese and Japanese labor. The contracts with labor 
arranged for compensation by a division of profits — what 
we call in the States " farming on shares " — will do for the 
sugar industry what the same system has done for us in 
the cotton industry. And if, as in the case of cotton, there 
is too great production, coffee growing will be found a 
resource. 

There are many charming households in Honolulu, and 
among them, conspicuous for private kindliness, and a hos- 
pitality generous without ostentation, as well as ofiicial dig- 
nity, is that of Mr. Dole, who has guided with a clear head 
and firm hand the American colony, until they are safe 
under the old flaof and once more those who were immi- 
grants are citizens of their native land. But it must not 
be forgotten that many Americans, true under all circum- 
stances, are the children and children's children of those 



232 HAWAII, OUR FIRST PACIFIC COLONY. 

who had celebrity for missionary work half a century ago. 
Mr. Dole is not a demonstrative politician, and office has 
sought him. Whether he would care to continue in a 
place of public responsibility is a question about which 
there are differences of opinion, and a very pretty compli- 
ment is paid Mrs. Dole by those who say he had better do 
as his wife says. 

The American minister, Mr. Harold Sewall, has been 
most active in American interests, and his public-spirited 
patriotism has been a much-needed and excellent influence, 
and Mrs. Sewall has been a leader in the wonderful band 
of women who have devoted themselves to the care of the 
sick soldiers of the United States, and to the comfort of 
those in health who came ashore in thousands to have 
bounteous feasts spread before them in the midst of scenes 
of tropical beauty that made the land seem to the boys one 
of enchantment, and her brother, a youncr Vireinian, is 
serving- as a private soldier in a troop of cavalry, and doing 
his duty with pride. Young Southern officers from recent 
West Point classes are numerous in the American army of 
the Philippines, and several of them are from Old Viro-inia 
and It is delightful to see the lines of States and sections, 
if not forgotten, so shadowy that they are in no de(->-ree 
barriers that are boundaries of good-fellowship. There is 
glory enough for all, and pride in country that towers over 
and broadens beyond all prejudice of place, and consoli- 
dates Americanism. 

The climate of Hawaii is delightful and every gradation 
of temperature, altitude, and humidity is presented, each 
respective climate variation retaining an unchanged even- 
ness throughout the year. The average range of tempera- 
ture throughout the year is about 17°. The highest tem- 
perature during five years was 88°, showing that the heat 



HAWAII, OUR FIRST PACIFIC COLONY. 233 

record of the thermometer Is very seldom a record of dis- 
comfort. 

Each of the principal Islands is an immense but extinct 
volcano. There is only one active crater, that of Kilauca, 
on the Island of Hawaii. 

Mr. Henry S. Townsend, the Inspector-General of Ha- 
waiian schools, is of the opinion that the Hawaiians have 
been persistently misrepresented. He says: 

"The original Hawaiians were not cannibals, though they 
had not attained a very high degree of civilization. They 
were, however, easily influenced, and the early missionaries 
soon converted the whole people to Christianity. To-day 
it is impossible to find among the adult Hawaiians a sin- 
gle individual who is unable to read or write; yet they 
are pictured, by many ignorant writers, as interesting 
savages. 

" There is little crime among them. Many sleep in safety 
of property and person in houses unlocked, and women 
travel unattended and without fear in every district of the 
Islands. There is not yet a necessity for alms-houses, nor 
i»s there anything in the population to correspond with the 
tramp or the beat." 

The total area of the Island is 6,640 square miles. 

The population, in 1896, was 109,020; 72,517 males, 
36,503 females. Of this population 31,019 were, natives, 
8,485 half-castes, 21,616 Chinese, 24,407 Japanese, 15,191 
Portuguese, 3,086 Americans, 2,250 British, 1,432 Germans, 
378 Norwegians, loi French, 455 Polynesians, and 600 
other foreig^ners. 

The native population Is closely allied to the Maoris of 
New Zealand, and at the time of Captain Cook's discovery 
of the Islands, upward of a century ago, the population 
numbered probably 200,000. The natives have rapidly de- 



234 HAWAII, OUR FIRST PACIFIC COLONY. 

creased in number, and since the census of 1884 the loss 
has been over 9,000. 

The foreign element is, however, rapidly increasingr, and 
since 1890 there has been a gain of over 26,000. Most of 
the immigrants have been Japanese. Chinese immigration 
has recently been restricted. The capital, Honolulu, has 
over 30,000 inhabitants, is lighted by electricity, and has 
electric street-car service. Steamers connect the Islands 
with the American Continent, Australasia, and the Orient. 
There is railroad and telegraphic service on the Island, and 
nearly every family in Honolulu has a telephone. 





HAWAII. — Raising the "Stars and Stripes." Annexation Ceremony. 





HONOLULU.— A Business Street. — In the Suburbs. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

OUR RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS. 

Clay and Webster on Presidential Power and the Right of Free Speech and 
Humane Sympathy with Liberty at Home and Abroad — Henry Clay on 
the Power of the President and the Duties of a Nation to Humanity — 
Henry Clay's Flaming Denunciations of the Turks for Carrying on War 
against the Greeks — The most Atrocious and Brutal War that ever 
Stained Earth or Shocked High Heaven — Daniel Webster Accused of 
being a Revolutionist — This for some Civil Words to Kossuth — How the 
Great Constitutional Lawyer and Conservative Statesman Answered the 
Charge — The Famous Hulsemann Letters — Laying Down the Great 
American Principles of our Relations with Other Nations and the Cause 
of Liberty. 

In 1824 Daniel Webster offered the following resolution 
in the House of Representatives : 

Resolved, That provision ought to be made by law for defraying the expense 
incident to the appointment of an agent or commissioner to Greece, whenever 
the President shall deem it expedient to make such appointment. 

Henry Clay, on the 20th of January, 1824, said in regard 
to Mr. Webster's resolution : 

" Mr. C hairman : Is it not extraordinary that for these two successive years 
the President of the United States should have been freely indulged, not only 
without censure, but with universal applause, to express the feehngs which 
both the resolution and the amendment proclaim, and yet, if this House venture 
to unite with him, the most awful consequences are to ensue. Everywhere the 
interest in the Grecian cause is felt with the deepest intensity, expressed in 
every form, and increases with every new day and passing hour, and are the 
representatives of the people alone to be insulated from the common moral 
atmosphere of the whole land ? 

"This measure has been most unreasonably magnified. Gentlemen speak 
of the watchful jealousy of the Turk and seem to think the slightest move- 
ment of this body will be matter of serious speculation at Constantinople. The 
Turk will, in all probability, never hear of the names of the gentlemen who 
either espouse or uphold the resolution. It certainly is not without value, and 
that value is not altogether without a moral. 

H 237 



«.Q OUR RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS. 

" There is reason to apprehend that a tremendous storm is ready to burst 
upon our happy country, one which will call into action all our vigor, courage 
and resources. Is it wise or prudent in preparing for the storm, if it must come^ 
to talk to this nation of its incompetency to repel the European invasion, to 
lower its spirit, to weaken its moral energy, and to qualify it for easy con- 
quest and base submission? If there be any reality in the dangers which are 
supposed to encompass us should we not animate the people and adjure them 
to believe, as I do, that our resources are ample and that we can bring into the 
field a million of freemen ready to exhaust their last drop of blood, and to spend 
their last cent in the defense of the country, its liberty and its institutions ? Sir, 
are we, if united, to be conquered by all Europe combined? All the perils to 
which we could possibly be exposed are much less in reality than the imagina- 
tion is disposed to paint them. They are best averted by an habitual contem- 
plation of them, by reducing them to their true dimensions. If combined 
Europe is to precipitate itself upon us, we cannot too soon begin to invigorate 
our strength, to teach our heads to think, our hearts to conceive, and our arms 
to execute the high and noble deeds which belong to the character and glory of 
our country. 

" The experience of the world instructs us that conquests are already achieved, 
which are boldly and firmly resolved on, and that men only become slaves who 
have ceased to resolve to be free. We may content ourselves with studying the 
true character of our own people, and with knowing that the interests are confided 
to us of a nation capable of doing and suffering all things for liberty. Such a 
nation, if its rulers be faithful, must be invincible. Are we so humble, so low, 
so debased that we dare not express our sympathy for suffering Greece, that 
we dare not articulate our detestation of the brutal excesses of which she has 
been the bleeding victim, lest we might offend some one or more of their im- 
perial and royal majesties ? 

" If gentlemen are afraid to act rashly on such a subject, suppose, Mr. Chair- 
man, that we unite in an humble petition addressed to their majesties, beseech- 
ing them that of their gracious condescension they would allow us to express 
our feelings and our sympathies. How shall it run ? ' We, the representatives 
of the free people of the United States of America, humbly approach the 
thrones of your imperial and royal majesties and supplicate that of your imperial 
and royal clemency '—I cannot go through the disgusting recital. My lips 
have not yet learned to pronounce the sycophantic language of a degraded 
slave. 

" Are we so mean, so base, so despicable that we may not attempt to express 
our horror, utter our indignation at the most brutal and atrocious war that ever 
stained earth or shocked high Heaven ; at the ferocious deeds of a savage and 
infuriated soldiery stimulated and urged on by the clergy of a fanatical and 
inimical religion and rioting in all the excesses of blood and butchery, at the 
mere details of which the heart sickens and recoils ? If the great body of 
Christendom can look on calmly and coolly while all this is perpetuated on a 



OUR RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS. ^^q 

Christian people in its own immediate vicinity, in its very presence, let us at 
least evince that one of its remote extremities is susceptible of sensibility to 
Christian wrongs and capable of sympathy for Christian sufferings; that in this 
remote quarter of the world, our hearts are not yet closed against compassion 
for human woes, that they pour out their indignant feehngs at the oppression of 
a people endeared to us by every ancient recollection and every modern tie, as 
her attempts have been made to alarm the committee by the dangers of our 
commerce in the Mediterranean, ah, sir, ' what shall it profit a man if he gain 
the whole world and lose his own soul?' Or, what shall it avail a nation to 
save the whole of a miserable trade and lose its liberties ? " 

" It is not for Greece alone that I desire to see this measure adopted. It will 
give to her but little support, and that purely of a moral kind. It is principally 
for America, for the credit and character of our common country, for our own 
unsullied name that I hope to see it pass. 

" Go home, if you can ; go home, if you dare, to your constituents, and tell 
them that you voted it down. Meet, if you can, the appalling countenances of 
those who sent you here, and tell them that you shrank from the declaration of 
your own sentiments ; that you cannot tell how, but that some unknown dread, 
some indescribable danger, drove you from your purpose ; but that scimetars and 
crowns, and crescents, gleamed before you and alarmed you; and that you 
suppressed all the noble feelings prompted by religion, liberty, by national 
independence and by humanity ! " 

Daniel Webster, Secretary of State in President Fill- 
more's term, laid down, in the language of diplomacy, the 
principle that any citizen of the United States, had the right 
to free speech, whether favorable or otherwise to a foreign 
government, and that under the flag of the United States 
all were protected. The Hungarian patriot, Kossuth, had 
been a sort of guest of the Nation, and was tendered 
many public honors. The Austrian Charge d'Affaires 
Chevalier Hulsemann objected particularly to the fact that 
the Secretary of State had publicly delivered an address 
in the presence of Kossuth, which he claimed was revolu- 
tionary and in which was held out encouragement to Hun- 
gary in her struggle for liberty. The Chevalier took it 
upon himself to complain to the President of the United 
States and also to write to the Secretary of State objecting 
to what he claimed was an international discourtesy, par 



OUR RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS. 

ticularly the proposing of a test for the speedy emancipation 
of Hungary by the Secretary of State. The following letter 
addressed to Mr. McCurdy, the American Charge d' Affaires 
at Vienna, shows how Daniel Webster, in his personal 
capacity, handled the difficulty. 

The Secretary of State to Mr. McCurdy. 

Department of State, Washington, June 8, 1852. 

Sir : — I transmit a copy of a note of the 29th of April last, addressed to me 
by Chevalier Hulsemann, announcing his intention of returning to Austria. 
This note leached me in lialtimore, I being then bound on a visit to Massa- 
chusetts from which I have now lately returned. On receiving it I directed 
Mr. Hunter to return the answer, a copy of which is also herewith inclosed. 
It is obvious from the tenor of all his recent communications to this depart- 
ment, that the Chevalier Hulsemann's experience in the diplomatic service of 
his government has not instructed him accurately in the nature and hmits of 
his official functions, and that, notwithstanding his long residence in this coun- 
try, he is quite uninformed as to the character of our institutions and the re- 
sponsibility of public men in the United States, for their acts and for their 
sentiments in a private capacity in regard to the foreign powers. 

The Chevaher Hulsemann came here in 1838 as Secretary of Legation, under 
the highly accomplished Baron de Mareschall, who was accredited as Envoy 
Extraordinary to his Imperial Majesty. Ever since the retirement of that 
gentleman he has acted as Charge d' Affaires, but, so far as we are aware 
without any regular commission from his government. It is certain that he 
has never been accredited to this department by the Austrian Minister for 
Foreign Affairs. The Chevalier Hulsemann, it appears, has yet to learn that 
no foreign government or its representative can take just offence at anything 
which an officer of this government may say in his private capacity. 

Official communications only are to be regarded as indicating the sentiments 
and views of the government of the United States. If these communications 
are friendly in their character, the foreign government has no right or reason 
to infer that there is any insincerity in them, or to point to other matters as 
showing the real sentiments of the government. You will see from Chevalier 
Hulsemann's note that he made an appeal to the President against what he 
calls newspaper improprieties, and unofficial remarks of the head of this de- 
partment. The President, actuated by a benevolent desire to preserve unim- 
paired -the friendly relations between the two governments, waved ceremony, 
and unofficially listened to his remarks. In pursuing this course, however, he 
by no means intended to allow the Chevalier Hulsemann to suppose that he was 
not well aware of his official position. The Chevalier Hulsemann should 
know that a Charge d' Affaire, whether regularly commissioned or acting as 



OUR RELATIONS WITfT OTHER NATIONS. 241 

such without commission, can hold official intercourse only with the Depart- 
ment of State. He has no right even to converse with the President on matters 
of business, and may consider it as a liberal courtesy that he is presented to 
him at all. I take it for granted that if you should imagine the Austrian Min- 
ister for Foreign Affairs had offended you, you would lay claim to the right to ap- 
peal to the Emperor. Although usually we are not rigid in these matters, yet 
a marked disregard of ordinary forms implies disrespect to the goverment 
itself. I shall not, of course, notice the specific subject of complaint of Chevalier 
Hulsemann. Whatever is personal to him must be allowed to pass without 
observation. You are at liberty to read this dispatch to the Austrian Minister 
for ForeignA ffairs. i -^^0., Sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

To C. H. McCuRDY, etc., Vienna. Daniel Webster. 

Chevalier Hulsemann was immortalized by Mr. Webster's 
great paper addressed to him defining the attitude of the 
United States toward all other nations on questions of 
popular freedom and personal liberty. The case in hand 
was that of Austria and Hungary, but the principles abide 
and have not only permanent interest and authority, but 
application to all nations. This is the higher law of our 
foreign relations. 

The Secretary of State to Mr. Hulsemann. 

Department of State, Washington, Dec. 21, 1850. 

The undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States, had the honoi 
to receive, some time ago, the note of Mr. Hulsemann, Charg^ d' Affaires 
of his Majesty, the Emperor of Austria, of the 30th of September. Causes, 
not arising from any want of personal regard for Mr. Hulsemann, or of proper 
respect for his government, have delayed an answer until the present moment. 
Having submitted Mr. Hulsemann's letter to the President, the undersigned is 
now directed by him to return the following reply. 

The object of Mr. Hulsemann's note are, first, to protest, by order of his 
government, against the steps taken by the late President of the United States 
to ascertain the progress and probable result of the revolutionary movements 
in Hungary ; and, secondly, to complain of some expressions in the instruc- 
tions of the late Secretary of State to Mr. A. Dudley Mann, a confidential 
agent of the United States, as communicated by President Taylor to the Senate 
on the 28th of March last. 

The principal ground of protest is founded on the idea, or in the allegation, 
that the government of the United States, by the mission of Mr. Mann and his 
instructions, has interfered in the domest c affairs of Austria in a manner 
unjust or disrespectful toward that power. The President's message was a 



242 OUR RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS. 

cominunicalion made by him to the Senate, transmitting a correspondence 
between the executive government and a confidential agent of its own. This 
would seem to be itself a domestic transaction, a mere instance of intercourse 
between the President and the Senate, in the manner which is usual and indis- 
pensable in conniiunications between the different branches of the government. 
It was not addressed either to Austria or Hungary; nor was it a public mani- 
festo, to which any foreign state was called on to reply. It was an account of 
its transactions communicated by the executive government to the Senate, at 
the request of that body; made public, indeed, but made public only because 
such is the common and usual course of proceeding. It may be regarded as 
somewhat strange, therefore, that the Austrian Cabinet did not perceive that, 
by the instructions given to Mr. Hulsemann, it was itself interfering with the 
domestic concerns of a foreign state, the very thing which is the ground of its 
complaint against the United States. 

This department has, on former occasions, informed the ministers of foreign 
powers, that a communication from the President to either house of Congress 
is regarded as a domestic communication, of which, ordinarily, no foreign state 
has cognizance ; and in more recent instances, the great inconvenience of 
making such communications the subject of diplomatic correspondence and 
discussion has been fully shown. If it had been the pleasure of his Majesty, 
the Emperor of Austria, during the struggles in Hungary, to have admonished 
the provisional government or the people of that country against involving 
themselves in disaster, by following the evil and dangerous example of the 
United States of America in making efforts for the establishment of independent 
governments, such an admonition from that sovereign to his Hungarian subjects 
would not have originated here a diplomatic correspondence. The President 
might, perhaps, on this ground, have declined to direct any particular reply to 
Mr. Hulsemann's note; but, out of proper respect for the Austrian govern- 
ment, it has been thought better to answer that note at length ; and the more 
especially, as the occasion is not unfavorable for the expression of the general 
sentiments of the government of the United Slates upon the topics which that 
note discusses. 

A leading subject in Mr. Hulsemann's note is that of the correspondence 
between Mr. Hulsemann and the predecessor of the undersigned, in which Mr. 
Clayton, by direction of the President, informed Mr. Hulsemann " that Mr. 
Mann's mission had no other object in view than to obtain reliable information 
as to the true state of affairs in Hungary, by personal observation." Mr. 
Hulsemann remarks, that " this explanation can hardly be admitted, for it says 
very little as to the cause of the anxiety which was felt to ascertain the chances 
of the revolutionists." As this, however, is the only purpose which can, with 
any appearance of truth, be attributed to the agency ; as nothing whatever is 
alleged by Mr. Hulsemann to have been either done or said by the agent incon- 
sistent with such an object, the undersigned conceives that Mr. Clayton's 
explanation ought to be deemed, not only admissible, but quite satisfactory. 

Mr. Hulsemann states, in the course of his note, that his instructions to 
address his present communication to Mr. Clayton reached Washington about 



OUR RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS. 24.^ 

the time of the lamented death of the late President, and that he delayed from 
a sense of propriety the execution of his task until the new administration 
should be fully organized ; " a delay which he now rejoices at, as it has given 
him the opportunity of ascertaining from the new President himself, on the 
occasion of the reception of the diplomatic corps, that the fundamental policy 
of the United States, so frequently proclaimed, would guide the relations of the 
American government with other powers." Mr. Hulsemann also observes that 
it is in his power to assure the undersigned "that the Imperial government is 
disposed to cultivate relations of friendship and good understanding with the 
United States." 

The President receives this assurance of the disposition of the Imperial gov- 
ernment with great satisfaction ; and, in consideration of the friendly relations 
of the two governments thus mutually recognized, and of the peculiar nature 
of the incidents by which their good understanding is supposed by Mr. Hulse- 
mann to have been for a moment disturbed or endangered, the President 
regrets that Mr. Hulsemann did not feel himself at liberty wholly to forbear 
from the execution of instructions, which were of course transmitted from 
Vienna without any foresight of the state of things under which they would 
reach Washington. If Mr. Hulsemann saw, in the address of the President to 
the diplomatic corps, satisfactory pledges of the sentiments and policy of this 
government in regard to neutral rights and neutral duties, it might, perhaps 
have been better not to bring on a discussion of past transactions. But the 
undersigned readily admits that this was a question fit only for the consideration 
and decision of Mr. Hulsemann himself ; and although the President does not 
see that any good purpose can be answered by reopening the inquiry into the 
propriety of the steps taken by President Taylor to ascertain the probable issue 
of the late civil war in Hungary, justice to his memory requires the undersigned 
briefly to restate the history of those steps, and to show their consistency with 
the neutral policy which has invariably guided the government of the United 
States in its foreign relations, as well as with the established and well-settled 
principles of national intercourse, and the doctrines of public law. 

The undersigned will first observe, that the President is persuaded, his 
Majesty, the Emperor of Austria, does not think that the government of the 
United States ought to view with unconcern the extraordinary events which 
have occurred, not only in his dominions, but in many other parts of Europe, 
since February, 1848. The government and people of the United States, like 
other intelligent governments and communities, take a lively interest in the 
movements and events of this remarkable age, in whatever part of the world 
they may be exhibited. But the interest taken by the United States in those 
events has not proceeded from any disposition to depart from that neutrality 
toward foreign powers, which is among the deepest principles and the most 
cherished traditions of the political history of the Union. It has been the neces- 
sary effect of the unexampled character of the events themselves, which could 
not fail to arrest the attention of the contemporary world, as they will doubtless 
fill a memorable page in history. 

But the undersigned goes further, and freely admits that, in proportion as 



244 ^^^^ RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS. 

these extraordinary events appeared to have their origin in those great ideas of 
responsible and popular government, on which the American constitutions 
themselves are wholly founded, they could not but command the warm sympathy 
of the people of this country. Well-known circumstances in their history, 
indeed their whole history, have made them the representatives of purely 
popular principles of government. In this light they now stand before the 
world. They could not, if they would, conceal their character, their condition, 
or their destiny. They could not, if they so desired, shut out from the view of 
mankind the causes which have placed them, in so short a national career, in 
the station which they now hold among the civilized states of the world. They 
could not, if they desired it, suppress the tlioughls or the hopes which arise 
in men's minds, in other countries, from contemplating their successful example 
of free government. That very intelligent and distinguished personage, the 
Emperor Joseph the Second, was among the first to discern this necessary con- 
sequence of the American Revolution on the sentiments and opinions of the 
people of Europe. In a letter to his minister in the Netherlands in 1787, he 
observes, that " it is remarkable that France, by the assistance which she 
afforded to the Americans, gave birth to reflections on freedom." This fact, 
which the sagacity of that monarch perceived at so early a day, is now known 
and admitted by intelligent powers all over tlie world True, indeed, it is, that 
the prevalence on the other continent of sentiments favorable to republican 
liberty is the result of the reaction of America upon Europe ; and the source 
and center of this reaction has doubtless been, and now is, in these United States. 
The position thus belonging to the United States is a fact as inseparable from 
their history, their constitutional organization, and their character, as the oppo- 
site position of tlie powers composing the European alliance is from the history 
and constitutional organization of the government of those powers. The 
sovereigns who form that alliance have not infrequently felt it their right to 
interfere with the political movements of foreign states ; and have, in their 
manifestoes and declarations, denounced the popular idea of the age in terms 
so comprehensive as of necessity to include the United States, and their forms 
of government. It is well known that one of the leading principles announced 
by the allied sovereigns, after the restoration of the Bourbons, is, that all 
popular or constitutional rights are holden not otherwise than as grants and indul- 
gences from crowned heads. "Useful and necessary changes in legislation and 
administration," says the Laybach Circular of May, 1821, "ought only to 
emanate from the free will and intelligent conviction of those whom God has 
rendered responsible for power; all that deviates from this line necessarily 
leads to disorder, commotions, and evils far more insufferable than those which 
they pretend to remedy." And his late Austrian Majesty, Francis the First, is 
reported to have declared, in an address to the Hungarian Diet, in 1820, that 
"the whole world had become foolish, and, leaving their ancient laws, were in 
search of imaginary constitutions." These declarations amount to nothing less 
than a denial of the lawfulness of the origin of the government of the United 
States, since it is certain that that government w^as estabHshed in consequence 
of a change which did not proceed from thrones, or the permission of crowned 



OUR RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS. 245 

heads. But the government of the United States heard these denunciations of 
its fundamental principles without remonstrance, or the disturbance of its 
equanimity. This was thirty years ago. 

The power of this republic, at the present moment, is spread over a region, 
one of the richest and most fertile on the globe, and of an extent in comparison 
with which the possessions of the house of Hapsburg are but as a patch on the 
earth's surface. Its population, already twenty-five millions, will exceed that of 
the Austrian empire within the period during which it may be hoped Mr. Hulse- 
mann may yet remain in the honorable discharge of his duties to his govern- 
ment. Its navigation and commerce are hardly exceeded by the oldest and 
most commercial nations ; its maritime means and its maritime power may be 
seen by Austria herself, in all seas where she has ports, as well as they may be 
seen, also, in all other quarters of the globe. Life, liberty, property, and all 
personal rights, are amply secured to all citizens, and protected by just and 
stable laws ; and credit, public and private, is as well established as in any 
government of Continental Europe ; and the country, in all its interests and 
concerns, partakes most largely in all the improvements and progress which 
distinguish the age. Certainly, the United States may be pardoned, even by 
those who profess adherence to the principles of absolute government, if they 
entertain an ardent affection for those popular forms of political organization 
which have so rapidly advanced their own prosperity and happiness, and 
enabled them, in so short a period, to bring their country, and hemisphere to 
which it belongs, to the notice and respectful regard, not to say the admiration, 
of the civilized world. Nevertheless, the United States have abstained, at all 
times, from acts of interference with the political changes of Europe. They 
cannot, however, fail to cherish always a lively interest in the fortunes 01 
nations struggling for institutions like their own. But this sympathy, so far 
from being necessarily a hostile feeling toward any of the parties to these 
national struggles, is quite consistent with amicable relations with them all. 
The Hungarian people are three or four times as numerous as the inhabitants 
of these United States were when the American Revolution broke out. They 
possess, in a distinct language, and in other respects, important elements of a 
separate nationality; which the Anglo-Saxon race in this country did not 
possess ; and if the United States wish success to countries contending for 
popular constitutions and national independence, it is only because they regard 
such constitutions and such national independence, not as imaginary, but as real 
blessings. They claim no right, however, to take part in the struggles of foreign 
powers in order to promote these ends. It is only in defense of his own 
government, its principles and character, that the undersigned has now 
expressed himself on this subject. But when the people of the United States 
behold the people of foreign countries, without any such interference, spontane- 
ously moving toward the adoption of institutions like their own, it surely cannot 
be expected of them to remain wholly indifferent spectators. 

In regard to the recent very important occurrences in the Austrian empire, 
the undersigned freely admits the difficulty which exists in this country, and is 
alluded to by Mr. Hulsemann, of obtaining accurate information. But this dif- 



246 OUR DELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS. 

ficulty is by no means to be ascribed to what Mr. Hulsemann calls, with little 
justice, as it seems to the undersigned, '* the mendacious rumors propagated by 
the American press." For information on this subject, and others of the same 
kind, the American press is, of necessity, almost wholly dependent upon that 
of Europe ; and if " mendacious rumors " respecting Austrian and Hungarian 
affairs have been anywhere propagated, that propagation of falsehoods lias 
been most prolific on the European contiitent, and in countries immediately 
bordering on the Austrian empire. But, wherever these errors may have origi- 
nated, they certainly justified the late President in seeking true information 
through authentic channels. 

His attention was first particularly drawn to the state of things in Hungary 
by the correspondence of Mr. Stiles, Charge d' Affaires of the United States at 
Vienna. In the autumn of 1848 an application was made to this gentleman, on 
behalf of Mr. Kossuth, formerly Minister of Finance for the Kingdom of Hun- 
gary by Imperial appointment, but, at the time the application was made, chief 
of the revolutionary government. The object of this application was to obtain 
the good offices of Mr. Stiles with the Imperial government, with a view to the 
suspension of hostilities. This application became the subject of a conference 
between Prince Schwarzenberg, the Imperial Minister for Foreign Affairs, and 
Mr. Stiles. The prince commended the considerateness and propriety with 
which Mr. Stiles had acted ; and, so far from disapproving his interference, 
advised him in case he received a further communication from the revolution- 
ary government in Hungary, to have an interview with Prince Windischgriitz, 
who was charged by the Emperor with the proceedings determined on in rela- 
tion to that kingdom. A week after these occurrences, Mr. Stiles received, 
through a secret channel, a communication signed by L. Kossuth, President of 
the Committee of Defence, and countersigned by Francis Puslzky, Secretary of 
State. On the receipt of this communication, Mr. Stiles had an interview with 
Prince Windischgratz, " who received him with the utmost kindness, and 
thanked him for his efforts towards reconciling the existing difficulties." Such 
were the incidents which first drew the attention of the government of the 
United States particularly to the affairs of Hungary, and the conduct of Mr. 
Stiles, though acting without instructions in a matter of much delicacy, having 
been viewed with satisfaction by the Imperial government, was approved by 
that of the United States. 

In the course of the year 1848, and in the early part of 1849, a considerable 
number of Hungarians came to the United States. Among them were mdivid- 
uals representing themselves to be in the confidence of the revolutionary gov- 
ernment, and by these persons the President was strongly urged to recognize 
the existence of that government. In these applications, and in the manner in 
which they were viewed by the President, there was nothing unusual ; still less 
was there anything unauthorized by the law of nations. It is the right of every 
independent state to enter into friendly relations with every other independent 
state. Of course, questions of prudence naturally arise in reference to new 
states, brought by successful revolutions into the family of nations ; but it is not 
to be required of neutral powers that they should await the recognition of the 



OUR RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS. 547 

new government by the parent state. No principle of public law has been more 
frequently acted upon, within the last thirty years, by the great powers of the 
world, than this. Within that period, eight or ten new states have established 
independent governments, within the limits of the colonial dominions of Spain, 
on this continent ; and in Europe the same thing has been done by Belgium and 
Greece. The existence of all these governments was recognized by some of the 
leading powers of Europe, as well as by the United States, before it was 
acknowledged by the states from which they had separated themselves. If, 
therefore, the United States had gone so far as formally to acknowledge the 
independence of Hungary, although, as the result has proved, it would have 
been a precipitate step, and one from which no benefit would have resulted to 
either party ; it would not, nevertheless, have been an act against the law of 
nations, provided they took no part in her contest with Austria. But the United 
States did no such thing. Not only did they not yield to Hungary any actual 
countenance or succor, not only did they not show their ships of war in the 
Adriatic with any menacing or hostile aspect, but they studiously abstained 
from every thing wliich had not been done in other cases in times past, and 
contented themselves with instituting an inquiry into the truth and reality of 
alleged political occurrences. Mr. Hulsemann incorrectly states, unintention- 
ally certainly, the nature of the mission of this agent, when he says that "a 
United States agent had been despatched to Vienna with orders to watch for a 
favorable moment to recognize the Hungarian republic, and to conclude a 
treaty of commerce with the same." This, indeed, would have been a lawful 
object, but Mr. Mann's errand was, in the iirst instance, purely one of inquiry. 
He had no power to act, unless he had at first come to the conviction that a 
firm and stable Hungarian government existed. "The principal object the 
President has in view," according to his instructions, "is to obtain minute and 
reliable information in regard to Hungary, in connection with the affairs of 
adjoining countries, the probable issue of the present revolutionary movements, 
and the chances we may have of forming commercial arrangements with that 
power favorable to the United States." Again, in the same paper, it is said: 
"The object of the President is to obtain information in regard to Hungary, 
and her resources and prospects, with a view to an early recognition of her 
independence and the formation of commercial relations with her." It was 
only in the event that the new government should appear, in the opinion of the 
agent, to be firm and stable, that the President proposed to recommend its 
recognition. 

Mr. Hulsemann, in qualifying these steps of President Taylor with the epithet 
of "hostile," seems to take for granted that the inquiry could, in the expecta- 
tion of the President, have but one result, and that favorable to Hungary. If 
this were so, it would not change the case. But the American government 
sought for nothing but truth ; it desired to learn the facts through a reliable 
channel. It so happened, in the chances and vicissitudes of human aflFairs, that 
the result was adverse to tlie Hungarian revolution. The American agent, as 
was stated in his instructions to be not unlikely, found the condition of Hun- 
garian aflfairs less prosperous than it had been, or had been believed to be. He 



248 OUR RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS. 

did not enter Hungary, nor hold any direct communication with her revolution- 
ary leaders. He reported against the recognition of her independence, because 
he found she had been unable to set up a firm and stable government. He 
carefully forebore, as his instructions required, to give publicity to his mission, 
and the undersigned supposes that the Austrian government first learned its 
existence from the communications of the President to the Senate. 

Mr. Hulsemann will observe from this statement, that Mr. Mann's mission 
was wholly unobjectionable, and strictly within the rule of the law of nations 
and the duly of the United States as a neutral power. He will accordingly feel 
how little foundation there is for his remark, tliat "those who did not hesitate 
to assume the responsibility of sending Mr. Dudley Mann on such an errand, 
should, independent of considerations of propriety, have borne in mind that 
they were exposing their emissary to be treated as a spy." A spy is a person 
sent by one belligerent to gain information of the forces and defences of the 
other, to be used for hostile purposes. According to practice, he may use 
deception, under the penalty of being lawfully hanged if detected. To give 
this odious name and character to a confidential agent of a neutral power, bear- 
ing the commission of his country, and sent for a purpose fully warranted by 
the law of nations, is not only to abuse language, but also to confound all just 
ideas, and to announce the wildest and most extravagant notions, such as cer- 
tainly were not to have been expected in a grave diplomatic paper ; and the 
President directs the undersigned to say to Mr. Hulsemami, that the American 
government would regard such an imputation upon it by the Cabinet of Austria 
as that it employs spies, and that in a quarrel none of its own, as distinctly 
offensive, if it did not presume, as it is willing to presume, that the word used 
in the original German was not of equivalent meaning with " spy " in the Eng- 
glish language, or that in some other way the employment of such an opprobri- 
ous term may be explained. Had the Imperial government of Austria subjected 
Mr. Mann to the treatment of a spy, it would have placed itself without the pale 
of civilized nations ; and the Cabinet of Vienna may be assured, that if it had 
carried, or attempted to carry, any such lawless purpose into effect, in the case 
of an authorized agent of this government, the spirit of the people of this 
country would have demanded immediate hostilities to be waged by the utmost 
power of the republic, military and naval. 

Mr. Hulsemann proceeds to remarks that " this extremely painful incident, 
therefore, might have been passed over, without any written evidence being left 
on our part in the archives of the United States, had not General Taylor 
thought proper to revive the whole subject by communicating to the Senate, in 
his message of the i8th (28th) of last March, the instructions with which Mr. 
Mann had been furnished on the occasion of his mission to Vienna. The 
publicity which has been given to that document has placed the Imperial 
government under the necessity of entering a formal protest, through its official 
representative, against the proceedings of the American government, lest that 
government should construe our silence into approbation, or toleration even, of 
the principles which appear to have guided its action and the means it has 
adopted." The undersigned re-asserts to Mr. Hulsemann, and to the Cabinet 



OUR RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS. 249 

of Vienna, and in the presence of the world, that the steps taken by President 
Taylor, now protested against by the Austrian government, were warranted by 
the law of nations and agreeable to the usages of civilized states. With 
respect to the communication of Mr. Mann's instructions to the Senate, and the 
language in whicli they are couched, it has already been said, and Mr. Hulse- 
mann must feel the justice of the remark, that these are domestic affairs, in 
reference to which the government of the United States cannot admit the 
slightest responsibility to the government of his Imperial majesty. No state, 
deserving the appellation of independent, can permit the language in which it 
may instruct its own officers in the discharge of their duties to itself to be called 
in question under any pretext by a foreign power. 

But even if this were not so, Mr. Hulsemann is in an error in stating that the 
Austrian government is called an " iron rule" in Mr. Mann's instructions. 
That phrase is not found in the paper ; and in respect to the honorary epithet 
bestowed in Mr. Mann's instructions on the late chief of the revolutionary 
government of Hungary, Mr. Hulsemann will bear in mind that the govern- 
ment of the United States cannot justly be expected, in a confidential commu- 
nication to its own agent, to withhold from an individual an epithet of distinction 
of which a great part of the world thinks him worthy, merely on the ground 
that his own government regards him as a rebel. At an early stage of the 
American Revolution, while Washington was considered by the English govern- 
ment as a rebel chief, he was regarded on the continent of Europe as an 
illustrious hero. But the undersigned will take the liberty of bringing the 
Cabinet of Vienna into the presence of its own predecessors, and of citing for 
its consideration the conduct of the Imperial government itself. In the year 
1777 the war of the American Revolution was raging all over these United 
States. England was prosecuting that war with a most resolute determination, 
and by the exertion of all her military means to the fullest extent. Germany 
was at that time at peace with England ; and yet an agent of that Congress, 
which was looked upon by England in no other light than that of a body in 
open rebellion, was not only received with great respect by the ambassador of 
the Empress Queen at Paris, and by the minister of the Grand Duke of Tuscany 
(who afterwards mounted the imperial throne), but resided in Vienna for a 
considerable time ; not, indeed, officially acknowledged, but treated with 
courtesy and respect ; and the Emperor suffered himself to be persuaded by 
that agent to exert himself to prevent the Gehnan powers from furnishing 
troops to England to enable her to suppress the rebellion in America. Neither 
Mr. Hulsemann nor the Cabinet of Vienna, it is presumed, will undertake to say 
that anything that was said or done by this government in regard to the recent 
war between Austria and Hungary is not borne out, and much more than borne 
out, by this example of the Imperial Court. It is believed that Emperor Joseph the 
Second habitually spoke in terms of respect and admiration of the character of 
Washington, as he is known to have done of that of Franklin ; and he deemed 
it no infraction of neutrality to inform himself of the progress of the revolu- 
tionary struggle in America, or to express his deep sense of the merits and the 
talents of those illustrious men who were then leading their country to inde- 



250 OUR RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS. 

pendence and renown. The undersigned may add that in 1781 the courts of 
Russia und Austria proposed a diplomatic congress of the beUigerent powers, 
to which the commissioners of the United States should be admitted. 

Mr. Hulsemann thinks that in Mr. Mann's instructions improper expressions 
are introduced in regard to Russia ; but the undersigned has no reason to 
suppose that Russia herself is of that opinion. The only obervation made in 
those instructions about Russia is, that she " has chosen to assume an attitude 
of interference, and her immense preparations for invading and reducing the 
Hungarians to the rule of Austria, from which they desire to be released, gave 
so serious a character to the contest as to awaken the most painful solicitude in 
the minds of Americans." The undersigned cannot but consider the Austrian 
Cabinet as unnecessarily susceptible in looking upon language like this as a 
"hostile demonstration." If we remember that it was addressed by the 
govenunent to its own agent, and has received publicity only through a com- 
munication of one department of the American government to another, the 
language quoted must be deemed moderate and inoffensive. The comity of 
nations would hardly forbid its being addressed to the two imperial powers 
themselves. It is scarcely necessary for the undersigned to say, that the 
relations of the United States with Russia have always been of the most friendly 
kind, and have never been deemed by either party to require any compromise 
of their peculiar views upon subjects of domestic or foreign polity, or the true 
origin of governments. At any rate, the fact that Austria, in her contest with 
Hungary, had an intimate and faithful ally in Russia, cannot alter the real 
nature of the question between Austria and Hungary, nor in any way affect the 
neutral rights and duties of the government of the United States, or the justi- 
fiable sympathies of the American people. It is, indeed, easy to conceive, that 
favor toward struggling Hungary would not be diminished, but increased, 
when it was seen that the arm of Austria was strengthened and upheld by a 
power whose assistance tlireatened to be, and which in the end proved to be, 
overwhelmingly destructive of all her hopes. 

Toward the conclusion of his notes Mr. Hulsemann remarks, that "if the 
government of the United States were to think it proper to take an indirect part 
in the political movements of Europe, American policy would be exposed to 
acts of retaliation, and to certain inconveniences which would not fail to afTect 
the commerce and industry of the two hemispheres." As to this possible 
fortune, this hypothetical retaliation, the government and people of the United 
.States are quite willing to take their chances and abide their destiny. Taking 
neither a direct nor an indirect part in the domestic or intestine movements of 
Europe, they have no fear of events of the nature alluded to by Mr. Hulsemann. 
It would be idle now to discuss with Mr. Hulsemann those acts of retaliation 
which he imagines may possibly take place at some indefinite time hereafter. 
Those questions will be discussed when they arise ; and Mr. Hulsemann and 
the Cabinet at Vienna may rest assured, that, in the mean time, while perform- 
ing with strict and exact fidelity all their neutral duties, nothing will deter either 
the government or the people of the United States from exercising, at their own 
discretion, the rights belonging to them as an independent nation, and of forming 



OUR RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS. 251 

and expressing their own opinions, freely, and at all times, upon the great 
political events which may transpire among the civilized nations of the earth. 
Their own institutions stand upon the broadest principles of civil liberty ; and 
believing those principles and the fundamental laws in which they are embodied 
to be eminently favorable to the prosperity of states, to- be, in fact, the only 
principles of government which meet the demands of the present enlightened 
age, the President has perceived, with great satisfaction, that, in the constitution 
recently introduced into the Austrian empire, many of these great principles 
are recognized and applied, and he cherishes a sincere wish that they may 
produce the same happy effects throughout his Austrian Majesty's extensive 
dominions that they have done in the United States. 

The undersigned has the honor to repeat to Mr. Hulsemann the assurance of 
his high consideration. 

Daniel Webster. 

The Chevalier J. G. Hulsemann, 

Charge d' Affaires of Austria, Washington. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 

Henry Clay and Naval Preparations — His Sympathy with Greece — The Re- 
cognition of Greece — The Triumph of Clay — The Fear of Clay that 
England would Possess Cuba — The Seventeen Years' War of Spain — 
Clinging to Her South American Colonies — Correspondence with the 
Emperor of Russia — The Fights of Our Frigates in the Last War With 
England — The Impressment of American Seamen that Caused the War 
— Actual Fighting Before War was Declared — The Famous Chase of the 
Constilution and the Combat with the Guerriere. 

A MOST engaging account is given by Henry Clay's 
biographer, Geo. D. Prentice, of his struggles for a navy 
and his eloquent pleas for Greece. 

The bill which proposed an appropriation by the gov- 
ernment for the purchase of timber, and the repair of those 
vessels which were in a state of decay, gave rise to an ani- 
mated discussion. It was urged that it was in vain for us 
to think of contending with the maritime force of Great 
Britain, whose fleets covered the ocean like wide-extended 
cities. 

In the prosecution of his argument Henry Clay described 
three different degrees of naval force, and considered each 
of them in reference to the necessities and the pecuniary 
ability of the United States. The first was a force that 
should enable us to go boldly forth, upon every sea and 
ocean, and bid defiance to the larcrest fleets of a bellieerent 
power wherever they might be encountered. Such a force, 
he admitted, it would be the extreme of madness and folly 
for our government, to think, at that time, of establishing. 

The second description of force was one which, without 



WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 



255 



often venturing to seek an enemy In foreign climes, should 
be competent to beat off any squadron or deet which Great 
Britain or any other nation might attempt to station perma- 
nently upon our coast. He showed that this might be done 
by a force equal to one-third of that employed against us, 
it being a fact proved by nautical experience that a nation 
cannot maintain a permanent force upon a distant station 
without an equal force constantly in port for repairs, and 
another as constantly on the passage. From this he in- 
ferred that twelve ships of the line and filteen or twenty 
frigates would enable us to encounter the most formidable 
fleet which Great Britain, during the continuance of her 
European conflict, could maintain in American w^aters. 
Such a naval armament, he acknowledged, could not be 
looked for at that time, but he urged on Congress the pol- 
icy of making appropriation for it and expressed his entire 
conviction that the finances of the country would warrant 
its compledon in a few years. He was not intimidated by 
the boasted navy of the ocean-queen. So great, he con- 
tended, was her distance from us, so imminent the perils of 
a squadron on a foreign shore, and so numerous the facili- 
ties offered by an extensive sea-board to our own vessels, 
for annoying and evading an enemy, that we should soon 
have the means of providing a force which would empower 
us to vindicate all our maritime rights. 

A third description of the naval force by Henry Clay 
was considered as perfecdy within the nation's resources 
at the dme of the discussion. This was a force which 
should enable us to prevent any single vessel of whatever 
magnitude from endangering our whole coasting trade and 
laying our chief cities under contribution. He said : 

" If we are not al^le to meet the gathered wolves of the forest, shall we 
put up with the barking impudence of every petty cur that trips across our 
way 



15 



2-6 WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 

" If there be a point, more than any other in the United States, demanding the 
aid of naval protection, that point is the mouth of the Mississippi. The popula- 
tion of the whole western country is depending on this single outlet for their 
surplus productions. These productions can be transported in no other way. 
The whole commerce of the Mississippi, a commerce that is destined to be the 
richest that was ever borne by a single stream, is placed at the mercy of a 
single ship lying off the Belize. Again, what is to become of Cuba? Will it 
assert independence, or remain a province of some European power? In 
either case the whole trade of the western country, which must pass almost 
within gunshot of the Morro Castle, is exposed to danger. It is not, however, 
of Cuba I am afraid. I wish her independent ; but suppose England gets pos- 
session of that valuable island, with Cuba on the south and Halifax on the 
north, and the consequent means of favoring, or annoying the commerce of 
particular sections of the country, will not the most sanguine among us tremble 
for the integrity of the Union ? If along with Cuba, Great Britain should acquire 
East Florida, should we have the absolute command of the Gulf of Mexico ? 
Can gentlemen from the western country contemplate such possible and proba- 
ble events, without desiring to see at least the commencement of such a naval 
establishment as will effectually protect the Mississippi ? 

" A marine is the natural, the appropriate guardian of foreign commerce. 
The shepherd and his faithful dog are not more necessary to guard the flocks that 
browse and gambol on the neighboring mountain. Neglect to provide the one, 
and you must abandon the other. Suppose the expected war with Great Britain 
is commenced, you enter and subjugate Canada, and she still refuses to do you 
justice. What other possible mode will remain to operate on the enemy upon 
that element where alone you can then come in contact with him, and if you 
do not prepare to protect there your own commerce and to assail his, will he 
not sweep from the ocean every vessel bearing your flag and destroy even the 
coasting trade ? AVhat is our foreign commerce that has suddenly become so 
inconsiderable? It has, with very trifling aid from other sources, defrayed the 
expense of government ever since the adoption of the present Constitution, 
maintained an expensive and successful war with the Indians, a war with the 
Barbary powers, a quasi war with France, sustained the charge of suppressing 
two insurrections and extinguishing upwards of forty-six millions of the public 
debt. In revenue, it has, since the year 1789, yielded $191,000,000, and if our 
commerce is re-established, it will, in the course of time, net a sum for which we 
are scarcely furnished with figures in arithmetic." 

It was with such arguments that Clay won over the 
House to a orenerous appropriation for the navy that won 
the war of 18 12. In less than two years it became the 
right arm of the country. 

When Mr. Clay assumed the duties of the secretaryship 



WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 257 

of State he took up the cause of Greece, having failed, when 
in Congress, to procure on the part of the United States, 
the recognition of Grecian independence. He sent a min- 
ister to represent our government at Greece, and thus that 
country was hailed into the family of independent nations. 
America was the first to recognize her, and the measure 
was effected by the zeal and perseverance of Mr. Clay. 
The recognition of America gave heart to the Greeks, and 
the Turks were beaten back. 

Another interference in the affairs of other nations that 
seemed to demand the help of America was, when in an 
official letter addressed to Mr, Middleton, American Minis- 
ter to Russia, he sought to induce the Emperor Alexander 
to use his influence toward putting a period to the war, that 
for seventeen years had been raging between Spain and 
her South American colonies. 

He had, in an address in Congress, on a bill to prevent 
ships from being built at Baltimore for supposed use by 
the rebellious colonies, splendidly championed their cause, 
and on the subject of strict neutrality called attention to 
the fact that Spain had had an accredited minister to watch 
over its interests and to remonstrate against any acts of 
which it might complain, while the colonies, being wholly 
unrepresented, had no organ through which to communicate 
grievances. 

"Whenever war exists," said Mr. Clay, " between two 
independent states or between parts of a common empire, 
I know of but two relations in which other powers can 
stand towards the belligerents. The one is that of neu- 
trality and the other that of belligerency." Being then in 
a state of neutrality the question was whether the provi- 
sions of the bill were necessary to the performance of duty. 
For his part he wished for their independence. It had 



2-8 WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 

been said that the people of South America were incapable, 
from the ignorance and superstition prevailing among them, 
of achieving independence or enjoying liberty. Mr. Clay 
asked " to what cause is that ignorance and superstition 
owino-? Is it not due to the offices of their government, 
to the tyranny and oppression of hierarchical and political 
rule under which they groan ? Independence is the first 
step toward improving their condition." 

Mr. Clay described the state of South America, illus- 
trated the impossibility of her ever being re-conquered by 
Spain, dwelt upon the benefits that would result from the 
re-establishment of peace, not only to the belligerent pow- 
ers, but to all Europe, and suggested that the Emperor of 
Russia, by effecdng such a measure, might render himself 
as great and glorious in peace as he had already become 
in war. Although Mr. Clay, in this letter, did not directly 
ask the interference of Russia in behalf of Greece, sdll 
he was careful to suggest to the Emperor the cause of the 
Greeks, and reminded him of the fame that would crown his 
years, if he were to deliver that suffering people, as well as 
the South Americans, from the grasp of tyranny. The em- 
peror instructed his minister at the Spanish court to use 
every exertion in favor of the pacification of the colonies, 
and shortly afterwards the effusion of blood was stopped, 
and the independence of South America acknowledged by 
the parent country. In the meantime Alexander directed 
his personal attention more immediately to the Greeks, 
preparing to war with them, when death took him off and 
left their liberation to his successor. 

The war of 1812 is of particular interest as showing the 
wonderful fighting capacity of the United States Navy with 
the ten frigates built through the energy and far-sightedness 
of Henry Clay. 



WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 259 

Lord Castlereagh, in a speech before the House of Parha- 
ment on February 18, 181 1, stated that out of 145,000 sea- 
men employed in the British service, the whole number of 
American subjects amounted to more than 3,300. A search 
of the papers of the State Department at Washington 
showed that some 6,257 American citizens had been im- 
pressed into the British service, and there were as many pro- 
tests filed. John R. Spears in his " History of Our Navy," 
claims that there were more than 20,000 free American 
men who were forced into the service of the British Navy 
by press-gangs. It was this that led up to the war of 
1812. 

"It happened that the actual fighting occurred before war 
was declared. The British frigate Guerriere of thirty-eight 
guns, commanded, then, by Captain Samuel John Pechell, 
met on May i, 181 1, the American merchant ship Spitfire. 
The Gtieri'iere deliberately stopped her and took off John 
Deguyo, an American citizen, who was a passenger. At 
the time of this outrage the United States frigate, President 
of forty-four guns, commanded by Captain John Rodgers, 
was lying at Fort Severn, Annapolis, Md. He had been 
ordered to cruise up and down the coast to protect 
American commerce, and the facts of the Guerriere s 
assault upon the liberty of John Deguyo had been com- 
municated to him. He at once sought the Guei^riere, 
and late, that evening, met a stranger. The President, 
with her crew at quarters, drew up close on the other, and 
Captain Rodgers hailed from the lee rail, " What Ship is 
that ? " Instead of an answer the stranger replied by hailing 
in turn, " W^hat Ship is that ? " Captain Rodgers repeated 
his question, and to his intense surprise he got for an 
answer a shot from the stranger that struck the Presi- 
dent's main mast. Like an echo to this shot was one fired 



26o WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 

without orders from the President. To this the stranger 
repHed with three shots in quick succession, and then with 
a broadside. At that, the impatient gunner who had fired 
the first shot from the President, had the opportunity to 
try again under orders, and the rest of the crew joined in. 
For ten minutes they loaded the guns with a rapidity well 
worth noting, and fired with a deliberation and precision 
never to be forgotten. For some unknown reason the 
stranger ceased firing. She was manifestly much inferior 
to the PresideJit in armament. Captain Rodgers ordered 
his men to stop the engagement ; but no sooner had this 
order been obeyed than the stranger re-opened fire. 
Despite the darkness and growing wind and sea, one 
broadside knocked the stranger helpless. 

Now, when Rodgers once more hailed, he received a 
reply, but, owing to his position to windward, he could not 
understand it, but it is recorded that the captain pluckily 
said " No," when asked if he had struck. However, Rogers 
ran down under the stranger's lee, and hove to where he 
might be of service in case she should sink, and there he 
waited for daylight. 

During the night the vessels drifted apart, but at eight 
o'clock the next morning Captain Rodgers sent Lieutenant 
Creighton on board the stranger to "regret the necessity 
which had led to such an unhappy result, and offer assist- 
ance if any were needed." It was then learned that she 
was the twenty-gun corvette Little Belt, under command of 
Arthur B. Bingham. More than one quarter of her crew 
were destroyed ; on the President one boy was slightly hurt 
by a splinter. 

The whole affair was, of course, carefully investigated by 
both governments, the officers on each ship swore that the 
other had fired the first gun. 



WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 261 

Theodore Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, in 
his book on "The War of 1812," explains the superiority 
of the American seaman with the fact that the French, 
Spaniards, Algerians, Malays, and others constantly at- 
tacked American commerce. "Wherever an American sea- 
man went, he not only had to contend with all the legitimate 
perils of the sea, but he had also to regard almost every 
stranger as a foe. The effect of such a state of things, which 
made, commerce so remunerative that bolder spirits could 
hardly keep outof it, and so hazardous that only the most skill- 
ful and daring could succeed in it, was to raise up as fine a set 
of seamen as ever manned a navy. The American was 
more easily managed than most of his kind, being shrewd, 
quiet, and, in fact, comparatively speaking, rather moral 
than otherwise ; if he was a New Englander, and retired 
from a sea life, he was not unapt to end his days as a 
deacon. Altogfether there could not have been better ma- 
terial for a fighting crew than cool, gritty American Jack." 

The three days' chase of the Constitution by the British 
fleet was a test of seamanship of the highest order, and 
resulted in a victory for the American, for he escaped over- 
whelming odds by the wonderful handling of the boat. The 
Guei'viere, which afterward had to strike her flag to the 
Constitution, was the first of the British boats to get near 
her in the long pursuit. Just before sunset, the lookout on 
the Constitutio7i sighted three strangers, and later another. 
They were thought to be English, and the American there- 
fore discreetly started to get out of the way. All through 
the night she was followed by the English. 

As daylight broadened three sails were discovered on the 
starboard quarter, and three more at the stern. Soon 
another was spied to the westward. By nine o'clock when 
the mists had lifted, the Constitution saw to leeward two 



262 WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 

frigates, a ship of the line, two small frigates, a brig and a 
schooner. It was the squadron of Captain Philip Vere 
Broke. Luckily for " Old Ironsides " all of the English- 
men were beyond gun shot. Hull sent his boats ahead and 
then began the weary work of towing. At the same time 
the stern chasers were run out over the after-bulwarks and 
through the cabin windows. It fell a dead calm, and before 
long all of the English vessels had begun to tow also. 

Then a brilliant idea occurred to Lieutenant Morris of the 
Constitutiofi. All the spare hawsers and rope that could 
stand the strain were spliced together, and a Hne almost a 
mile in length was towed ahead of the ship and the kedge- 
anchor dropped. At once the Constitution began to 
walk away from her pursuers ; as she tripped one kedge 
she commenced a haul upon another. Hull displayed his 
colors and fired a gun, but it was not long before the British 
discovered the Yankee trick and were trying it themselves. 
A slight breeze happily sprang up which the Co?istitutio7t 
got first and forged ahead of the leading vessel that had 
fifteen or sixteen boats towing away at her. Soon it fell 
calm again and the towing and kedging were resumed. The 
British gained once more, and Hull sent overboard some 
twenty-four hundred gallons of water to lighten his vessel. 

At daybreak, of the following day, three of the enemy's 
frigates had crept up to within long gunshot on the lee 
quarter, and the Guerriere was close on the beam. Slowly 
but surely the Belvider drew ahead, and at last she was 
almost off the Constitution' s bow when she tacked. Hull, 
to preserve his position and the advantage of being to the 
westward, was obliged to follow suit. The American was 
then apparendy in the midst of the foe. The breeze fresh- 
ening, Hull hoisted in his boats, and the weary rowers 
rested their strained arms. 



WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 263 

An American merchantman appeared. The EngHshman 
did not dispatch a vessel to pursue her, but to encourage 
her to continue her course, flew the stars and stripes. 
Hull straightway as a warning drew down his own flag and 
set the English ensign. The merchantman hauled on the 
wind and made his best eflbrts to escape. 

The wind freshened, and the sails being trimmed and 
watched closely, the Constitution gained two miles and 
more upon the pursuers. Dark, angry clouds and deeper 
shadows on the water to westward showed that a sudden 
squall was approaching. The topmen were sent aloft, and 
the Constitution held on with all sails set, but with 
everything ready at the command to let go. As the rush of 
wind and rain approached all the canvas was furled, a reef 
taken in the mizzen topsail, and the ship was brought under 
short sail as if she expected to be laid on her beam ends. 

The English vessels astern probably expected that a hard 
blow was going to follow so they let go and hauled down as 
they were, withouf waiting for the wind to reach them. 
Some of them hove to and began to reef, and then scat- 
tered in different directions as if for safety, but no sooner 
had the rain assailed the Constitution than Hull hoisted 
his fore and main top-gallant as well, and with the wind 
blowing the water all about him he soared away over the 
seas at a gait of eleven knots. For an hour the breeze 
held strong and then it disappeared. 

A Yankee cheer broke out in which the officers joined, 
for the English fleet was far down the wind. A few minutes 
more sailing and the leading frigates were hull-down below 
the horizon. Still they held in chase throughout all the 
night, signaling each other now and then. At daybreak 
all fear was oyer, but the Constitution kept under all sail 
even after Broke's squadron gave up. 



264 WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 

The first real test of fighting was on the occasion of the 
affair between the Constitution and the Guerriere. A 
month after the successful eluding of the British navy, the 
Constitution sighted, in latitude 41°, 40', and longitude 55°, 
48', a British man of-war, which proved to be the Gtierriere. 

Hull raised his flag. Immediately in response, up went 
every masthead of the other ship, the red cross of Old 
England. It was growing late in the afternoon ; the breeze 
had freshened, and the white caps had begun to jump on 
every side. The crew of the Constitution broke into three 
ringing cheers as their grand old craft bore down upon the 
enemy. When almost within range, the English let go her 
broadside, and turning on the tack, fired her other broad- 
side. The shot fell short, and the Constitution reserved 
her fire. For three-quarters of an hour, the two man- 
osuvered, trying to rake and to avoid being raked in turn. 

At six in the evening, the enemy, seeing all attempts to 
outsail her antagonist were in vain, showed a brave indica- 
tion of wishinof to close the fieht. Hull reserved his fire 
until quite close to the Guerriere, when he shouted : " Now 
boys, pour it into them," The broadside was as one single 
explosion, and the destruction was perfect. The enemy's 
decks were strewn with the dead and wounded, and the 
blood ran out of the scuppers. Her cockpit filled with the 
wounded. For a few minutes, shrouded in smoke, they 
fought at the distance of a half-pistol shot. But in that 
short space of time, the Englishman was literally torn to 
pieces in hull, spars, sails and rigging. 

As her mizzen mast gave way, the Englishman brought 
up into the wind, and the Constitution forged slowly ahead 
and fired again, and then fell afoul of her antagonist, with 
her bowsprit across her larboard quarter. While in this 
position, Hull's cabin was set on fire by the enemy's for- 



WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 265 

ward battery, and part of the crew were called away from 
the guns to extinguish the threatening blaze. Now both 
sides tried to board. It was the old style of fighting for 
the British tars, and they bravely swarmed on deck at the 
call, " Boarders away ! " and the shrill piping of 'tween decks. 
The Americans were preparing for the same attempt, and 
three of their officers, who mounted the taff-rail, were shot 
by the English. The swinging and grinding of the huge 
ships against each other made boarding impossible, and it 
was at this anxious moment that the sails of the Constitu- 
tion filled. She fell off, and shot ahead. Hardly was she 
clear when the foremast of the enemy fell, carrying with it 
the main-mast, and leaving the proud vessel of a few hours 
before, a helpless wreck, " rolling like a log in the trough of 
the sea, entirely at the mercy of the billows." It was now 
nearly seven o'clock ; the sky had clouded over ; the wind 
was freshening, and the sea was growing heavy. Hull drew 
off for repairs, rove new rigging, secured his masts, and, 
wearing ship, approached, ready to pour in a final broad- 
side. 

It was not needed. Before the Constitutio7i could fire, 
the flag, which had been flying at the stem of the enemy's 
mizzen-mast, was struck. The fight was over. In the 
Gonstitution seven were killed and seven wounded ; in the 
Guerriere, fifteen killed, sixty- two wounded and twenty- 
four were missing. The next day the Guerriere, being 
useless, was set on fire. At 3.15 in the afternoon she 
blew up. 

Great Britain had, when we challeng-ed her to combat in 
181 2, one thousand ships of war, and was so thoroughly in 
command of the sea that "her title there was none to dis- 
pute." Exclusively of gunboats we had : 



266 



WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 



Constitution 44 

President 44 

United States 44 

Congress . . 38 

Constellation 38 

Chesapeake 38 

New York 36 

Adams 28 

Boston 28 

Essex 32 



John Adams 28 

Wasp 18 

Hornet 18 

Argus 16 

Siren 16 

Oneida 16 

Vixen 14 

Enterprise 14 

Viper 12 

Nautilus 14 



The quarrel was about the impressment of our sailors. 
We expected to take Canada, and the British proposed to 
occupy and possess forever, New Orleans and Louisiana. 
Neither got what they wanted, and nothing was said in the 
treaty about the ostensible cause of the war, but the British 
stopped searching our ships for their subjects. Two of the 
ships in our list were unseaworthy, the New York and Bosto?i, 
and the Oneida was on Lake Ontario, The Adams required 
repairs. We had seventeen cruisers on the ocean, and the 
British had fifty to our one. In addition England had the 
West India Islands, Bermuda and Halifax for places of 
refuge and repairs. In his naval history Cooper says : 

The vessels were scattered ; some were undercroino- 
repairs, others were at a distance ; and with the exception 
of one small squadron, everything was virtually committed 
to the activity, judgment and enterprise of the different 
captains. In the port of New York were collected the 
President 44, Commodore Rodgers ; Essex 32, CajDtain 
Porter ; and Hornet 1 8, Captain Lawrence. These vessels 
were ready to sail at an hour's notice, except the Essex, 
which ship was overhauling her rigging, and restoring her 
hold. Commodore Rodgers had dropped into the bay, 
with the President and Hornet^ where he was joined by the 
United States 44, Commodore Decatur ; Congress 38, Cap- 
tain Smith; and Argus 16, Lieutenant-Commandant Sin- 



• WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 267 

clair, all of which vessels arrived from the southward on 
the 2 1 St of June. 

A few days after the chase of the Coiistitution, the Eng- 
lish squadron separated, the Africa returning to port with 
the prisoners and prizes, and the frigates shaping their 
courses in different directions, in the hope that the ship 
which had avoided them so carefully when in company, 
might be less averse to meeting them singly. 

The Essex 32, Captain Porter, got to sea from New 
York, not long after the departure of Commodore Rodgers, 
and went first to the southward. She rnade several prizes 
early, destroying most of them and receiving the prisoners 
on board. The weather now compelled the Essex to run 
to the northward. When a few weeks from port a small 
fleet was approached at night, which was immediately 
understood to be enemies. The English ships were steer- 
ing to the northward, before the wind, and the Essex was 
stretching toward them, on an easy bowline, and under 
short canvas. The night had a dull moon, and it wanted 
but an hour or two to daylight. As the Essex drew near, it 
was perceived that the English were sailing in very open 
order, with considerable intervals between them, and that 
the convoying ship, a large vessel, was some distance 
ahead, and of course to leeward. 

As it was the intention of Captain Porter to preserve the 
weather gauge, until he ascertained who and what the con- 
voy might be, he stretched in towards the sternmost ship 
of the strangers, which he spoke. At this time the people 
of the Essex were at their guns, with everything ready to 
engage, but keeping the men on deck concealed, and 
having the lower ports in. After some conversation with 
the first vessel, it was ascertained that the fleet consisted of 
a few transports, under the convoy of a frigate and bomb- 



268 WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 

vessel, whereupon Captain Porter determined to get along- 
side of the former, if possible, and to carry her by surprise. 
With this view, the Essex shot ahead, leaving the first ves- 
sel, apparently, without exciting her suspicions. On rang- 
ing up close abeam of a second, some further discourse 
passed, when the Englishman so far took the alarm, as to 
announce the intention of making the signal of a stranger's 
having joined the fleet. It became necessary, therefore, to 
throw aside disguise, and to order the transport to haul out 
of the convoy, under the penalty of being fired into. This 
was done quietly, and seemingly, without attracting the 
attention of the rest of the fleet, which, of course, passed 
to leeward. On taking possession of her prize, the Essex 
found her filled with soldiers, and so much time was neces- 
sarily consumed in securing the latter, that the day dawned 
and it became inexpedient to renew the attempt on the 
convoy. The frigate was said to be the Minei'-va 36, and 
the troops in the convoy amounted to nearly 1,000 men. 
About 150 were taken in the prize. 

A few days after this success, the Essex sighted a strange 
sail to windward. The American at that moment was dis- 
guised as a merchantman, ha\'ing her gun-deck ports in, 
top-gallant mast housed, and sails trimmed in a slovenly 
manner. Deceived by these appearances, the stranger 
came running down free. The American ship showed 
her ensign and kept away, under short sail. This em- 
boldened the strangrer, who followed, and havinof aot on 
the weather quarter of his chase, began his fire, setting the 
English colors. The Essex now knocked out her ports, 
and opened upon the enemy, who appears to have been 
so much taken by surprise, that after receiving one or two 
broadsides the crew deserted their quarters and ran 
below. In eight minutes after the Essex had begun to fire 



WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 269 

the English ship struck. On sending Lieutenant Finch on 
board to take possession, the prize proved to be his Brit- 
annic Majesty's ship Alert, Captain Laugharne, mount- 
ing 20 eighteen-pound carronades, and with a full crew. 
The lieutenant found seven feet of water in the Alert, and 
w^as obliged to ware round to keep her from sinking. 

The Alert was the first vessel of war taken from the 
English in this contest, and her resistance was so feeble as 
to excite surprise. It was not to be expected, certainly, 
that a ship carrying eighteen -pound carronades could suc- 
cessfully resist a ship carrying thirty-two pound carron- 
ades, and double her number of guns and men ; but so 
exaggerated had become the opinion of the British prowess 
on the ocean, that impossibilities were sometimes looked 
for. As it is understood that only a part of the guns of 
the Essex bore on the Alert, the manner in which the latter 
was taken, must be attributed to a sudden panic among 
her people, some of whom were censured after their ex- 
change. Even the officers did not escape, the first lieu- 
tenant being dismissed from the service by a court-martial. 
The Alert had but three men wounded, and the Essex sus- 
tained no injury at all. 

Another interesting story is that of the brig Argus, 
under Captain Sinclair, which after separating from the 
United States.^ cruised alone, making several captures of 
merchantmen, though she met no vessel of war of a force 
proper for her to engage. During this cruise she was 
chased for three days and nights, by a squadron of the 
enemy, two of which were ships of the line. On this occa- 
sion the Argus proved her fine qualities, and the coolness 
of her officers and crew did them infinite credit. All the 
guns were preserved, though the brig was so hard pressed 
as to be obliged to cut away anchors, and to throw over- 



2 70 WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 

board some of her boats. Notwithstanding the persever- 
ance of her pursuers, the Argus actually took and manned 
a prize during the chase, though two of the enemy got near 
enoucrh to open their lire as the vessels separated. The 
brio- escaped, having made five prizes before she got in. 

The Wasp, i8 guns, Captain Jones, left the Delaware on 
a cruise. She was one of the sloops fitted out at the close 
of the Tripolitan war, a beautiful and fast cruiser. She 
retained all of her old armament and construction, having 
been a ship from the first, mounting i6 thirty-two pound 
carronades and 2 long twelves. The Wasp sailed to the 
northward. She ran off Boston, made one capture, and, 
after an absence of three weeks, returned to the Delaware. 
On the 1 3th of October she sailed a second time to get 
into the track of vessels steering north, and about 1 1 
o'clock in the night of the 17th several sail were made. 
Two of these appeared large, and Captain Jones did not 
deem it prudent to close, but, hauling off to a convenient 
distance, he steered in the same direction with the un- 
known vessels, with the intention of ascertaining their 
characters in the morning. When the day dawned the 
strangers were seen ahead and to leeward. Making sail 
to close, they were ascertained to be a convoy of six Eng- 
lish ships, under the charge of a heavy brig-of-war. Four 
of the merchantmen were armed, apparently, mounting 
from 12 to 18 guns. The commander of the brig, however, 
manifested no wish to avail himself of the assistance of any 
of his convoys, but shortening sail, the latter passed ahead, 
while he prepared to give battle. As it was the evident 
intention of the Englishman to cover his convoy, very 
little manoeuvering was necessary to bring the vessels 
alongside of each other. At 32 minutes past 1 1 a. m., the 
Wasp ranged close up on the starboard side of the enemy, 



WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 273 

receiving her broadside, at the distance of about sixty 
yards, and delivering her own. The fire of the EngHsh- 
man immediately became very rapid, it having been thought 
at the time, that he discharged three guns to the Wasp s two, 
and as the main-topmast of the latter ship was shot away 
within five minutes after the action commenced, appear- 
ances, at first, were greatly in the enemy's favor. In eight 
minutes the gaff and mizzen top gallant-mast also fell. 
But though the fire of the Wasp was the most deliberate, 
it was also the most deadly. 

In consequence of the fall of the main-topmast of the 
American ship, which, with the main-topsail-yard, lodged 
on the fore and fore-topsail braces, it became next to im- 
possible to haul any of the yards, had circumstances re- 
quired it, but the battle was continued with great spirit on 
both sides, until the ships had gradually closed so near 
that the bends of the Wasp rubbed against her antagonist's 
bows. Here the vessels came foul, the bowsprit of the 
enemy passing in over the quarter-deck of the Wasp, 
forcing her bows up into the wind, and enabling the latter 
to throw in a close raking fire. 

When Captain Jones perceived the effect of the enemy's 
fire on his spars and rigging, it was his intention to board, 
as he had closed with this view ; but finding his ship in so 
favorable a position to rake the enemy, he countermanded 
an order to that effect, and directed a fresh broadside to be 
delivered. The vessels were now so near that in loading 
some of the Wasps guns, the rammers hit against the bows 
of her antagonist, and the people of the English ship could 
no longer be kept at their quarter's forward. The dis- 
charge of one or two of the carronades swept the enemy's 
decks, and the impetuosity of the Wasp's crew could no 
longer be restrained ; they began to leap into the rig- 
16 



2 74 WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 

ging", and from thence on the bowsprit of the brig. As 
soon as Lieutenant Biddle, of the Wasp found that the crew 
was eagerly awaiting the command to board, he sprang into 
the rigging, followed by Lieutenant Rodgers and a party of 
officers and men. On the forecastle of the brig Lieutenant 
Biddle passed all his own people, but there was no enemy 
to oppose him. Two or three officers were standing aft, 
most of them bleeding. The decks were strewn with killed 
and wounded, but not a common hand was at his station, 
all of those that were able having gone below, with the 
exception of the man at the wheel. The latter remained 
at his post, with the spirit of a true seaman, to the very 
last. 

The English officers threw down their swords as Lieu- 
tenant Biddle and his men passed aft. 

The prize was the British sloop of war Frolic i8, Captain 
Whinyates, homeward bound, with the vessels in the Hon- 
duras trade under convoy. The Frolic, mounted on her 
main deck, sixteen thirty-two pound carronades, four long 
guns, ditferently stated to have been sixes, nines and twelves, 
and with two twelve-pound carronades on a top-gallant fore- 
castle. This armament would make a force crreater than 
that of the Wasp by four guns. The Wasp was cut up aloft 
to an unusual degree, there having been no question that 
her antagonist's fire was heavy and spirited. The braces 
and standing rigging were nearly all shot away, and some 
of the spars that stood were injured. She had five men 
killed and five wounded. The hull sustained no ereat 
damaore. 

The Frolic was also much injured in her spars and rigging, 
more particularly in the former; and the two vessels were 
hardly separated before both her masts fell. She had been 
hulled at almost every discharge, and was virtually a wreck 



WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 275 

when taken possession of by the Americans. Her loss 
in men was never accurately known, but her captain, 
lieutenant and master, were wounded ; the two latter mor- 
tally. Lieutenant Biddle, who remained in charge of the 
prize, after so gallantly boarding her, stated, that so far as he 
could ascertain, she had from seventy to eighty killed and 
wounded. Subsequent information, however, has given 
reason to believe that the number was even greater. Cap- 
tain Whinyates, in his official report, states that not twenty 
of his crew escaped unhurt, which would probably raise the 
casualties to a number between ninety and a hundred. 

The Frolic had scarcely submitted, when a sail was seen 
standing in towards the two vessels, evidently a ship of 
force. Instructions were given to Lieutenant Biddle to make 
the best of his way to Charleston with the prize, and the 
Wasp began to make sail, with an intention to continue her 
cruise; but, on opening her canvas, and turning the reefs 
out of her topsails, they were found to be nearly in ribands. 
The stranger, which turned out to be the enemy's ship 
Poictiei^s, 74, hove a shot over the Frolic in passing, and, soon 
ranging up near the Wasp, both vessels were captured. The 
Poictiers proceeded with her two prizes to Bermuda, and 
the Americans being paroled, soon after returned home. 

As this was the first combat of the war between vessels 
of a force so nearly equal as to render cavilling difficult, 
the result occasioned much exultation in America. 

The success of the Cmistitution and Hornet, two of the 
vessels of Commodore Bainbridge's squadron, served 
greatly to increase the popularity of the navy. Their com- 
manders were rewarded with medals, swords, and votes of 
thanks by different legislatures, and Captain Lawrence was 
promoted, and transferred to the command of the Chesa- 
peake. 



276 WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 

Cooper's History gives the great story of the Essex : 

" In the way of service to the pubhc, perhaps the great- 
est performed by the Essex was in protecting the American 
ships in the Pacific, nearly all of which would probably have 
fallen into the hands of the enemy, but for her appearance 
in that ocean. And the positive injury done the English 
commerce was far from trifling. The Essex had now cap- 
tured about 4000 tons of its shipping, made near 400 pris- 
oners, and for the moment had literally destroyed its 
fisheries in this part of the world." 

The Essex and Essex Junior quitted the harbor of Nooa- 
heevah, on the 12th of December, 181 3, bound for the 
coast of South America, which was made early in January. 
After watering at San Maria, and looking into Conception, 
the ships proceeded to Valparaiso. Up to this time not a 
dollar had been drawn for, to meet the expenses of the 
frigate. The enemy had furnished provisions, sails, cord- 
age, medicines, guns, anchors, cables, etc. A considera- 
ble amount of* pay even had been given to the officers and 
men, by means of the money taken. 

After the arrival in Valparaiso, it was found that the 
feelings of the Chilean government had taken an entirely 
new direction, as had been reported by Mr. Downes, 
favoring on all occasions the interests of the English, in 
preference to those of the Americans. Without paying 
much regard to this circumstance, however, Captain Porter 
determined to remain in, or off, the port, in waiting for the 
PJicebe 36, Captain Hillyar, one of the ships sent out in 
quest of him, under the impression that her commander 
would not fail, sooner or later, to seek him at that place. 
There was also the prospect of intercepting such of the 
English traders as might happen to touch at that port. 

The Phcebe arrived as was expected, but instead of 



WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 277 

coming alone, she had the Cherub 20, Captain Tucker, in 
company. 

As the Phcebe came in, the wind was light, and she passed 
quite near the Essex, with her people at quarters. Captain 
Hilly'ar hailed and inquired after the health of Captain 
Porter. After making the usual reply, the latter informed 
the English officer that if the vessel got foul, much con- 
fusion would ensue, and that he could not be answerable 
for the consequences. Captain Hillyar now observed that 
he did not meditate any attack, though the manner in which 
this was uttered, does not appear to have quieted the 
suspicions of the American officers. While the two vessels 
and their crews were in this novel position, the Phcebe was 
taken suddenly aback, and her bows played directly upon 
the Essex. Captain Porter immediately called away his 
boarders, and for a few minutes there was every appear- 
ance of a combat in a neutral port. 

The English ships, having obtained some supplies, went 
outside, and cruised off Valparaiso for six weeks. During 
this time, the Essex made several attempts to engage the 
Phcebe alone, sometimes by bringing her to action with the 
Essex Junior in company, and at others by bringing her to 
action singly having the crew of the Essex Junior on board 
the frigate. Captain Porter ascertained to his satisfaction, 
that he could easily outsail either of the enemy's vessels, 
but his object was not so much to escape, as to capture the 
Phcebe, which he had reason to think he might do, could he 
bring her to close action without her consort's interference. 
On the 27th of February, the Cherub being nearly a 
league dead to leeward of her, the Phcebe ran close in, 
hove to off the port, hoisted a motto flag and fired a gun 
to windward, when the Essex immediately weighed and 
stood out of the harbor, and answered the weather gun of 



278 



Vi/HEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 



the enemy. On this occasion, the ships got within gun- 
shot of each other, and when the American frigate opened 
fire, the PhcBbe ran down and joined her consort. This 
conduct excited a good deal of feeHng among the offi- 
cers of the Essex, who rightly judged that the challenge 
should not have been given, if it were not the intention of 
the enemy to engage singly. 

The Essex met with an accident in attempting to leave 
the harbor and finding it impossible to beat up to the com- 
mon anchorage, in his present condition, in time to avoid 
the enemy, Captain Porter stood across the entrance of the 
harbor, to the northeastern side, where he let go an anchor, 
about three miles from the town, a mile and a-half from 
the Castello Viego, which, however, was concealed by a 
bluff, half a mile from a detached battery of one twenty- 
four pound gun, and within pistol-shot of the shore. Not- 
withstanding this position, the enemy continued to approach, 
and it soon became evident, by the motto flags and jacks 
he set, that it was his serious intention to engage. The 
Essex, in consequence, cleared for action, and attempted to 
get a spring on her cable, but had not succeeded in effect- 
ing this important object, when the Phcebe, having obtained 
an advantageous position, nearly astern, about 4 p. m. 
opened her fire, at long shot. At the same time, the Cherub 
commenced the action on the starboard bow. The fire of 
the Ph(£be, from the double advantage she possessed in her 
long guns and her station, became very destructive, as 
scarce a gun from the Essex could touch her. The 
Cherub, however, was soon driven off, when she ran down 
to leeward, and engaged from a position near that taken 
by the Phcebe. Three long twelves were got out aft, and 
they played with so much effect on the enemy, that at the 



WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 



279 



end of half an hour, both his ships hauled off from shore 
to repair damages. 

The enemy was not long in making his repairs, and both 
ships next took position on the starboard quarter of the 
Essex, where it was not in the power of the latter vessel 
to bring a single gun to bear upon him, as he was too dis- 
tant to be reached by carronades. His fire was very gall- 
ing, and it left no alternative to Captain Porter, between 
submission, and running down to assail him. He gallantly 
decided on the latter. But, by this time, the Essex had 
received many serious injuries, in addition to the loss of 
her topmast. Her topsail sheets and halyards had all 
been shot away. The only sail that could be got upon the 
ship to make her head pay off was a flying jib, which was 
hoisted, when the cable was cut, and the vessel edged away, 
with the intention of laying the Phcebe aboard. 

The fore-topsail and foresail were now let fall, though, 
for want of tacks and sheets they were nearly useless 
Still the Essex drove down her assailants, closing near 
enough to open with her carronades. For a few minutes 
the firing on both sides was tremendous, the people of the 
Essex proving their discipline and gallantry, at that trying 
moment, in a way to justify all the high expectations that 
had been formed of them, though their decks were already 
strewn with killed, and the cockpit was crowded with the 
wounded. This work proved too hot for the Cherub, which 
hauled off a second time, nor did she come near enougfh to 
use her carronades again, during the remainder of the 
action, keeping up a distant fire with her long guns. 

Three entire crews of one of the guns of the Essex were 
swept away, the captain, though wounded, being the only 
survivor. Captain Porter had a hawser bent to the sheet- 
anchor which was let go and brought the head of the ship 



28o 



WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 



around, bringing her broadside to bear, and doing execution 
until the hawser parted. By this time the ship was on fire. 
Captain Porter summoned his officers. Only one. Acting 
Lieutenant McKnight, could join him on the quarter-deck. 
The first lieutenant, Mr. Wilmer, had been knocked over- 
board by a splinter and drowned, while getting the sheet- 
anchor from the bow ; Acting Lieutenant Cowell, the next 
in rank, was mortally wounded ; Acting Lieutenant Olden- 
heimer had just been knocked overboard. Seventy-five 
men, officers included, were all that remained for duty; and 
the enemy, in perfectly smooth water, was firing his long 
eighteens at a nearly unresisting ship, with as much pre- 
cision as he could have discharged them at a target. It 
had become an imperative duty to strike, and the colors 
were hauled down. 

In this bloody contest the Essex had 58 men killed, 66 
wounded, making a total of 124. Of the missing there 
were 31, most of whom were drowned in attempting to 
swim ashore when the ship was on fire, or by being knocked 
overboard by the splinters, or pieces of the rigging. The 
entire loss was 152 out of 255. The Americans lost a ship, 
but not honor. Admiral Farragut was through the slaughter 
as a midshipman. 

HUMBLING THE BARBARY STATES. 

Commodore Decatur had the grateful mission, in 181 5, 
to humble the Dey of Algiers, who made the mistake of 
supposing the navy of the United States had been de- 
stroyed in the war with England. 

Decatur sailed with a small squadron in May, 181 5. 
His flagship was the Guerriere, 44 guns. When he 
passed the Strait of Gibraltar he found the Algerine pirate 
fleet cruising in search of American vessels. On the 17th 



WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 281 

of June he met, fought, and captured the flagship of the 
Algerine admiral (a frigate of forty-four guns), and another 
pirate ship with six hundred men. With these prizes he 
sailed for the harbor of Algiers, and demanded of the ruler, 
(June 28th), the instant surrender of all American prisoners 
in his hands, full indemnity for all American property 
destroyed by his forces, and all claims to tribute from the 
United States thereafter. When the Dey heard of the fate 
of his fleet, he hastened to comply with Decatur's demands. 
The commodore summoned him to the deck of the Guer- 
riere, with his captives. The Dey appeared with them 
and some of his officers, on the 30th of June. There he 
signed a treaty and left the frigate in deep humiliation. 

Decatur then sailed for Tunis, and demanded and re- 
ceived from the Bashaw, or ruler of that State, ^46,000 in 
payment for American vessels, which he had allowed the 
British to capture in his harbor. This was in July. Then 
Decatur proceeded to Tripoli, and in August he demanded, 
from its ruler, ^25,000 for the same kind of injury to pro- 
perty, and the release of prisoners. The Tripolitans' trea- 
sury was nearly empty, and the commodore accepted, in- 
stead of cash, the release from captivity of eight Danish 
and two Neapolitan seamen who were held as slaves. This 
closed Decatur's services at sea. 

perry's victory. 

Perry's fleet, on Lake Erie, was the brig Lawrence, 20 
guns, the brig Niagara, 20, brig Caledonia, 3, schooner 
Ariel, 4, schooner Sco7'pion, 2, and two swivels, sloop 
Trippe, i, schooner Tigress.^ i, and schooner Porcupine, i. 
The British squadron was the ship Detroit, 19 guns, one 
on pivot, and two howitzers, ship Qjieen Charlotte, 17 guns, 
one howitzer, schooner Lady Provost, 1 3 guns, one how- 



282 WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 

itzer, brig Hiinter, lo guns, sloop Little Belt., 3 guns, 
schooner Ch/ppeiva, i gun, and two swivels. 

On the morning of September 10, at sunrise, the British 
fleet was seen on the horizon. At ten o'clock the Lawrence 
was cleared for action, and Perry brought out a battle-flag 
with the dying words of Lawrence, " Don't give up the 
ship." Perry said: " My brave lads! This flag contains the 
last words of Captain Lawrence. Shall I hoist it? " 

" Ay, ay, sir," they all shouted, and aloft went the flag, 
greeted with cheers of the whole fleet. 

The Niagara, Captain Elliott, led the fleet. Barclay's 
vessels were near together, the Detroit (his flag-ship), in 
the van. At noon a bufjle sounded on board the Detroit 
as a signal for action ; the British bands struck up " Rule 
Britannia," and a 24 pound shot was sent over the water 
from the Detroit toward the Laiureiice. It fell short ; but 
a few minutes afterward another shot, from Barclay's long 
guns, went crashing through the bulwarks of the Lawrence. 
The latter kept silent. " Steady, boys ! Steady," said Perry, 
who knew the advantage possessed by Barclay with his 
long guns, and he determined to fight at close quarters. 
His ship suffered shockingly during the action — the Nia^ 
gara falling behind — the Lawrence receiving the fire of 
nearly all the heavy guns of the enemy. At last she be- 
came a wreck and a slaughter-house, without men to 
handle the o-uns Lossine writes : 

"The Niagai^a had lagged behind — the swift, staunch, 
well-manned Niagara. She did not come to the relief of 
the helpless and severely wounded Lawi'ence, but Perry 
went to her — an exploit at that hour of peril, one of the 
most gallant on record. He determined to fly to her, and, 
bearing down with her upon his foe, secure a victory. So 
certain did he feel of ultimate triumph, and having occasion 



WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 283 

• 

to receive guests, that he exchanged his sailor's suit for the 
uniform of his rank. Leaving the gallant and thrice 
wounded Yarnall in charge of the Lawrence, the colors of 
which were yet flying, he entered a boat with his little 
brother and four stout seamen, and standing erect, with 
the pennant and battle flag half folded around him, he 
pushed off for the Niagara, half a mile distant. 

" The hero, now so conspicuous, was made a special 
mark for the missiles of his antagonists. Barclay knew 
that if the man who had fought the Lawrence so bravely 
reached the Niagara, the British squadron would be in 
great danger of defeat. For fifteen minutes, during Perry's 
fearful voyage in the open boat, the great and little guns 
of the British, by Barclay's order, were brought to bear 
upon him, but he received no bodily harm from cannon 
balls, grape shot, canister and musket bullets showered 
upon him. Oars were splintered, bullets traversed the 
boat, and his oarsmen were covered with spray caused by 
the fall of round shot near the boat, but not a person was 
hurt. Perry sprung on board of the Niagara, took the 
command^ bore down upon the British, and br©ke their 
line. For awhile the whole American squadron was en- 
gaged in the combat. 

" Eight minutes after Perry dashed through the British 
line the colors of the Detroit were lowered, and her exam- 
ple was followed at once by all the other British vessels. 
The battle had lasted three hours. When the smoke 
cleared away, it was discovered that the vessels of the two 
squadrons were intermingled. The victory was complete. 
As soon as it was assured, Perry wrote, in pencil, on the 
back of an old letter, resting the paper on his navy cap, 
that remarkable dispatch to General Harrison, the first 
sentence of which has been so oft repeated ; 



284 WHEN OUR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 

*' We have met the enemy, and they are ours : two ships, two brigs, one 
schooner, and one sloop. 

Yours with great respect and esteem, 

O. H. Perry." 



" The next movement in the solemn drama was the recep- 
tion of the British officers, the expected guests of Perry — 
who dehvered to him their swords. Barclay had been 
severely wounded. All the captives were treated with 
great courtesy and kindness. The bodies of the slain were 
buried in the deep waters of the lake, at the twilight hour 
of that beautiful September day, after the impressive burial 
service of the Anglican Church had been read. 

" This victory proved to be one of the most important 
events of the war. It saved the western states from inva- 
sion by the British and Indians, and opened the way for 
Harrison to recover what Hull had lost, and more. It 
lifted the pall of despondency, which reverses to the land 
troops had spread over the land, and there was great jubi- 
lation everywhere. The effect upon the country was elec- 
tric, and amazingly inspiring." 

The loth of September is as well remembered as the 
8th of January, and Perry's victory ranks with New Orleans 
in the general estimation. During many years it was cele- 
brated by popular festivals — the ringing of bells, the firing 
of cannon, public addresses and the singing of songs. The 
loth of September we shall ever remember. 

Although the English had surrendered, two of their 
boats tried to escape. It was the schooner Chippe'wa and 
the sloop Little Belt, who had taken advantage of the veil- 
ing cloud of smoke, in an endeavor to escape back to the 
Detroit river. 

The commander of the Scorpion, Stephen Chaplin, and 
Thomas Holdup, in command of the Trippe^ noticed this 



WHEN OLR NAVY WON GREAT GLORY. 285 

little trick on the part of the Englishmen, and went in 
chase, capturing both of them. It thus happened that 
Chaplin fired the last shot of the battle. 

After the British commander had struck his colors, a 
cheer went up from each of the American ships, the last 
of all beino- the battered Lawrence, from which came but a 
feeble response. Perry, who had been preparing to re- 
ceive the British officers, on hearing this faint appeal from 
the remnant of the crew of the Lawrence, determined to 
return to her at once. After informing the British officers 
that they would be received there, he entered a boat, and 
was conveyed to his former flagship. Those of his crew 
who were able, gathered to receive him with uncovered 
heads, in silence, amidst a most touching scene. 

The number of dead among the Americans was 27 (of 
whom 22 were killed on the Lawrence) ; the wounded, 96. 
The British lost 41 killed and 94 wounded. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

WAR TTITH THE PIRATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 

Our Ncavy at the Beginning of the Century — The War with the Barbary 
Pirates — Picturesque and Deadly P'ighting at Tripoh — Tlie CAory of 
Decatur — The Praise of Nelson — Hand to Hand Fighting — Decatur 
Kills his Brother's Murderers — The Burning of the Philadt'lpliia and 
the Awful Fate of the Fire Ship. 

It was in the first year of the century now so old that the 
Americans proposed in the nam6 of Christian civiHzation to 
put an end to the slave trade and piracy on the Mediterra- 
nean of the Barbary States, and sent a squadron there. 
It consisted of the President, Captain James Barron ; the 
Philadelphia, Captain Samuel Barron ; the Essex, Captain 
William Bainbridge, and the twelve-gunned schooner En- 
terprise, under command of Lieutenant Andrew Sterrett. 
The first fight with the pirates occurred on August i, 1801. 
The Enterprise attacked the Tripoli^ of fourteen guns and 
eighty men. When the battle had raged for two hours at 
point blank range the Tripoli's flag was lowered. Lieu- 
tenant Porter put off in a boat to take possession, while the 
crew of the Enterprise turned to repair damages to their 
^'ggi^g. thereat the pirates opened a murderous fire and 
hoisted the red flag again. After a fierce conflict the Cor- 
sairs once more hauled down their flag. Porter was on his 
way again to take possession when they renewed battle 
more vigorously than ever. 

" Sink the damned, treacherous creatures to the bottom ! " 
said Sterrett. Exasperated by the treachery they had seen, 
the crew started in to obey the order with a will, and the 

Corsair captain saw his fate before him. He begged for 

286 



JVA/i WITH THE PJRATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 287 

quarter, and it was granted to him. The enemy had lost 
twenty killed and twenty-eight wounded. The Enterprise 
did not lose a man. Congress gave Sterrett a sword and 
every other member of the crew a month's pay because of 
the heroic action. 

A decided disaster was that of the loss of the frieate 
PhiladelpJiia, on October 31, 1803. She was in charge 
of Captain William Bainbridge aiding in the blockade of 
Tripoli. When he saw a Corsair stealing into port under 
a strong breeze he chased the enemy that hugged the coast. 
Suddenly the Philadelphia struck a reef, the bow rose 
high from the water, and in the tremendous shock sailors 
were thrown to the decks. Everything was done to get 
her from her dangerous position, even to cutting her fore- 
mast and throwing overboard many of her guns. The gun- 
boats of the enemy thereupon attacked the grounded 
frigate. The Americans replied as best they could, but soon 
the Philadelphia keeled over and was helpless. The 
magazine was flooded and the ship scuttled. Three hun- 
dred and fifteen men were forced to surrender to the 
pirates. Two days later a high tide raised the stern of the 
Philadelphia, the pirates repaired the damage which had 
been done to her and hauled her off The Bashaw of 
Tripoli, with his American prisoners held for ransom, and 
with the Philadelphia added to his fleet, was now a dan- 
gerous enemy. 

It became absolutely necessary that the Philadelphia 
be recaptured, or, if necessary, destroyed. Lieutenant- 
commander Charles Stewart, who had recently arrived with 
the brig Siren, of eighteen guns, offered his services to 
Commodore Preble, although the latter was pledged to in- 
trust the service to Decatur, it was decided that Lieutenant 
Stewart should be allowed to co-operate. A letter was 



2SS IVAJ? WITH THE PIRA TES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN, 

received from Captain Bainbridge from his prison in Trip- 
oli, written with lemon juice, legible on being held to the 
fire, suggesting various plans for annoying the enemy, 
and among them that of destroying the Philadrlpkia by 
surprise. The Ketch, Mastico, which Decatur liad re- 
cendy captured, offered a suitable vessel for the under- 
taking. She was taken into the service under the name of 
the Intrepid. 

The thrilling story is told by McKenzie. It is to the 
great credit of the American navy that its ranks are always 
filled with men ready to volunteer for any hazardous duty, 
and when Stephen Decatur mustered the men on the quar- 
ter deck of the E7iterprise and briefly told them of the 
services required of them, it is related that every officer, 
man and boy came forward in a body. The gallant wish 
of all could not be gratified. Lieutenant Decatur selected 
James Lawrence, Joseph Bainbridge and Jonathan Thorne. 
He also took his surgeon, Lewis Hermann, and his favorite 
midshipman, Thomas Macdonough. Sixty-two of the best 
of the crew were chosen, and the whole went gladly to the 
hitrepid. They were joined by Midshipman Ralph Izard, 
John Rowe, Alexander Laws, Charles Morris and John 
Davis. A Sicilian pilot, Salvadoro Catalano, well acquainted 
with the harbor of Tripoli, was chosen. To make the exact 
number of the crew ordered by his superior, Decatur added 
to his men Midshipman Thomas O. Anderson. Full of 
hope of distinction and patriotic excitement, this little band 
of adventurers set sail in company with the Siren. 

After a pleasant passage the two vessels arrived in sight 
of Tripoli on the seventeenth of February, when one of 
the heavy gales common to the neighborhood forced the 
vessels to stand out to sea. For six days they were almost 
at the mercy of the wind and waves, with scant food, but 



IVA/? WITH THE PIRATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 291 

with brave hearts. In order to form a just estimate of the 
hazard of Decatur's proposed attack it should be stated 
that the PJiiladelphia had forty guns mounted, all double 
shotted and ready for firing. She was moored within half 
gun-shot of the Bashaw's castle and the other batteries of 
the local fortifications. Three Tripolitan cruisers, mount- 
ing together twenty-six guns, two galleys and nineteen gun- 
boats, lay between her and the shore. It had been the 
intention to make the attack together with the Siren, but 
as Decatur got nearer the harbor he did not dare to trust 
to the uncertain weather, and decided to make the attack 
with the Intrepid alone. He assigned each of his men to 
a special service, and addressed to them a last word of 
appeal in behalf of their country, their brother officers and 
seamen in captivity. 

He then steered boldly towards the Philadelphia, aided 
by the faint illumination of a crescent moon, and when the 
wind had become very light and the progress of the Intre- 
pid was scarcely perceptible she stole slowly onward 
towards her big foe. The Intrepid got within twenty yards 
of the Philadelphia when she was spied and ordered to 
keep off. The pilot, Catalano, previously instructed by 
Decatur, cried out that he had lost his anchors in the late 
gale and asked that he might be permitted to run a warp 
to the frigate and ride by her until anchors could be ob- 
tained from the shore. The pirates soon spied the Siren 
which was just coming in, but Catalano with great tact 
informed them that she was the Transfer, a former British 
man of war which had been purchased at Malta to serve 
Tripoli. 

During this talk one of the Intrepid' s boats shoved off 
and pulled to the forechains of the Philadelphia, where she 
made fast. The pirates suddenly raised the cry of " Ameri- 
17 



292 IVA/? IVITH THE PIRATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 

canos." Decatur sprang at the main chains of the Phila- 
delpJiia^ calling out to his men " Board." 

He clamored over the rail and reached the enemies' deck, 
being preceded a bit by Midshipman Charles Morris, and 
followed by Midshipman Laws, and quickly in succession 
over the ports and rail followed the other officers and the 
crew. Decatur drew his men up and then rushed sword 
in hand upon the Tripolitans. — [Alexander S. McKenzie, 
pages sixty-four to seventy-five]. 

It was impossible to ascertain the number slain, but it 
was estimated as being between twenty and thirty. The 
enemy beaten escaped in boats to the shore. 

S. Putnam Waldo in his account says Decatur found 
himself in complete possession of the Philadelphia^ and in 
command upon the same deck which his gallant father had 
commanded before him. There was no chance of saving 
the ship, for there was no wind. The Bashaw's troops had 
commenced a tremendous fire from their batteries and the 
castle, and the gun-boats and Corsairs were also pouring 
their fire into the Philadelphia. Decatur set fire to the 
ship. A favorable breeze rose at this moment which blew 
the Intrepid.^ with its gallant crew, directly out of the reach 
of the enemy's cannon, and enabled Decatur and his men 
to behold at a safe distance the burning Philadelphia. As 
the flames heated the loaded cannon in the frigate they 
were discharged, those pointing into the city of Tripoli 
doing great damage. Spears states the thrilling story in 
these terms : " With poles and oars the Americans strove to 
get away, the flames on the Philadelphia reached her 
tarred rigging at the rail, running thence to the masthead 
they made such giant torches as to illuminate the whole 
boat and expose the fleeing party as if in the light of day. 
All eyes were for a moment dazzled with the blazing light, 



IVAJ^ WITH THE PIRATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 293 

and then came a shock and roar that made the earth and 
sea shudder. The fire had reached the magazine and the 
Philadelphia was blown to atoms. 

The waves from the explosion came out to rock the 
triumphant Americans in their litde boat, rapidly reaching 
their shipmates and safety, Not an American was slain in 
this desperate business and but four were wounded. At 
the time of Decatur's first, and in the estimation of some, 
this his greatest achievement there was no intermediate 
grade between a First-lieutenant and that of Post-captain, 
to which he was promoted for the destruction of the Phila- 
delphia, and it is recounted that his brother officers, who 
were his seniors, voluntarily consented that he should be 
promoted over them, a high tribute not only to Decatur, 
but to the magnanimity and patriotism of American officers. 
Lord Nelson has said of this feat of Decatur's that it was 
" the most bold and daring act of the age." 

After the destruction of the Philadelphia war against the 
Tripolitans was carried on with increased vigor. On the 
afternoon of August 3. 1804, six gunboats and two divisions 
were sent in to take the enemies' boat. The master com- 
mandant, Richard Somers, led one division, and Captain 
Stephen Decatur the other. Of the six gunboats but three 
succeeded in getting at the enemy. One of these carried 
Stephen Decatur, and another his brother James Decatur. 
The Tripolitan fleet numbered nine gunboats, fully as well 
manned and armed as any of the American, but the Yankees 
dashed at the head of the fleet with hearty cheers. Stephen 
Decatur's boat was the first to open fire. Its long gun had 
been loaded with a thousand musket balls in a bag, and was 
fired at close range. A moment later she was beside the 
enemy and Decatur led the way to her quarter deck. It 
was a bloody but a brief fight, and the Americans won. 



294 JVAK WITH THE PIRATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 

The Tripolitan captain was found dead widi fourteen bullets 
from the great gun through hhii. 

Meantime James Decatur had attacked another of the 
enemy, and her commander seeing the power of the Ameri- 
cans hauled down his flag after the first fire had been re- 
ceived. He then waited the coming of Lieutenant James 
Decatur — waited with a loaded pistol in his hand. As De- 
catur stood at the rail ready to board and take possession, 
the Tripolitan shot him dead, the bullet passing through his 
head. Stephen Decatur heard of his brother's murder. 
He was towing the captured gunboat, but cast her off and 
seconded by his crew went after the assassin. A round of 
grape shot and musketry was poured into the fleeing bar- 
barians, and then Decatur led the assault, and himself 
selected the captain for his own victim. 

The Tripolitan was a mbre powerful man than the Ameri- 
can. Decatur lunged at him with a boarding pike. The 
Mussulman parried the blow, caught the weapon and 
wrenching it away lunged at Decatur. Decatur had drawn 
his sword and with this parried the thrust, but his sword 
broke short at the hilt. The Tripolitan lunged again, and 
Decatur was wounded in the chest and arm. A moment 
later the two were clasped in a struggle for life. At this 
moment another Mussulman aimed a blow at Decatur's 
head. Reuben James, a sailor with both arms disabled, 
leaped in, and with his own head got the blow aimed at De- 
catur. As it happened each of the leaders had fallen with 
one arm free, the others pinned down by the men on top. 
The Tripolitan drew a long knife, Decatur a pocket pistol, 
and for a moment each felt the others ribs to locate the 
heart, but Decatur was first by a fraction of a second, and 
his pistol ball did faithful work, killing the Mussulman in- 
stantly. 



WAJ? WITH THE PTRATES90F THE MEDITERRANEAN. 295 

It Is comforting to know that the brave Reuben James 
recovered from the wounds he had received and Hved to 
serve the Nation more than forty years. It was his boast 
that he was in ten fights and as many scrimmages, and it 
was his custom to celebrate the anniversary of each with 
enthusiasm. A jolly old tar was Reuben James. 

Equally brave were the men on the third American gun- 
boat commanded by Sailing Master John Trippe and Mid- 
shipman John D. Henley. Two officers and nine men had 
boarded the Tripolitan, when the two boats became sep- 
arated, leaving these eleven men to face the whole bar- 
barian crew, which they charged with pikes and swords. 
Trippe and Henley singled out the Captain, knowing that 
victory was assured if they could cut him down, but he 
was a magnificent specimen of humanity, and fighting with 
the energy born of fanaticism he wounded Trippe no more 
than eleven times, and at last Trippe went down with one 
knee on the deck, but while in this position he caught the 
Tripolitan with breast unguarded, and thrust him through 
with a pike, and thus ended one of the most remarkable 
fights recorded in the annals of the navy, for Trippe and 
his ten men killed fourteen of the Tripolitans and made 
the remaining twenty-two prisoners. There were but seven 
of the enemy wounded, for the Americans had fought to 
kill, besides Trippe, a boatswain, mate and two marines 
were wounded, but none killed on the American side. 

Meantime Master Commandant Somers, being unable to 
follow Decatur, faced singly five of the enemies' boats. 
The other American gun-boats, which had not been able 
to get to the fight at first, now came in and the enemy 
was driven off. The Constitution, the flag ship, and the 
smaller vessels of the American fleet sailed close under 
the enemies' batteries, silencing them over and over again. 



296 IVAf! WITH THE PIRATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 

and bombarded die city. That the batteries were not per- 
manently silenced was due to the fact that the Tripolitans 
had twenty-five thousand soldiers within, and these re- 
manned the guns of each battery as soon as the American 
ships ceased firing at it. 

While one of the American gun-boats was firing on a 
shore battery a hot shot penetrated her magazine, and she 
was blown up ; Midshipman T. Spence and the gun's crew 
were loading the big gun on the bow. As the smoke cleared 
away spectators saw the midshipman and his men still at 
work loading the gun, and not only did they complete their 
work as the boat sank under them, but they gave three 
cheers for the flag, and then fired their last shot at the 
enemy. Spence was not able to swim, but got hold of a 
big oar and kept afloat with eleven others until picked up. 

Preble, desirous of annoying the enemy by all means, de- 
cided to send a fire-ship among its shipping, and his decision 
resulted in the loss of a number of brave men and gave them 
everlasting glory. The Ketch Intrepid which had served 
so well in the attack upon the captured Philadelphia, 
was selected for the sacrifice. One hundred and fifty bar- 
rels of powder, one hundred fixed shells and a lot of old 
iron were placed in a bin amidship, and from this a train 
led to a room well aft where a hucre mass of combustibles 
were placed. It was intended to run the boat in among 
the shipping start the fuses, and for her officers and men 
then to escape in two swift row-boats. Master-commandant 
Somers was chosen to command, with Midshipman Wads- 
worth and ten seamen ; in addition to these was a stowaway. 
Midshipman Joseph Israel. He had pleaded in vain for 
permission to go, and so hid on board. He was discovered 
and then allowed to go. Somers before starting took off 
a ring he wore, and breaking it into three pieces gave one 



JVA/^ WITH THE PIRATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 297 

to Decatur, another to Stewart, his two most intimate 
friends. He kept the third himself. The two pieces given 
away were to be preserved as momentoes, if he failed to 
return. The Intrepid slipped away, and was on the outer 
edge of the shipping when it was discovered by the enemy. 
In the rigging of the Nautilus, a midshipman was able with 
the aid of a powerful glass to follow the Intrepid up the 
channel. He saw her glide as a shadow between the gun- 
boats there. At this moment the signal gun announced 
her discovery. It was followed by the rapid firing of every 
cannon on that side of the harbor. Immediately there was 
a commotion, and the light of a lantern in the hands of one 
running was seen passing along the deck of the Intrepid. 
This light passed over the midship hatch to drop out of 
sight an instant later, and then a hell of flame burst up in 
the sky where the light had disappeared. 

When morning came it was seen that one of the enemies 
gun-boats was missing and the Tripolitans were hauling 
three others badly shattered out on the beach. The In- 
trepid and all who sailed in her had been blown to pieces. 
Richard Somer, finding that he was discovered and the crew 
of a Tripolltan gun-boat coming on board had deliberately 
fired the mine and destroyed himself with the enemy. 

Other attacks on the city followed. Congress gave 
Preble a gold medal, each of his officers and midshipmen a 
sword, and all others of the crew a month's pay. The force 
was Increased, and the Bashaw becoming alarmed eventually 
offered to deliver up all prisoners for a ransom of $60,000 
and aeree never ag^aln to trouble American commerce. 
This offer was accepted and peace followed. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

OUR RELATIONS WITH CHINA. 

Our Policy in Relation to China and Our Opposition to the Second Opium War 
— The Confidence of China in the United States — The Protection Offered 
China by the United States, through Her Representatives— The Fall of 
China Principally Due to Her Opposition to Christian Civilization — The 
Fame of " Chinese Gordon " the Work of an American — China's Recog- 
nition of the Services of Our Countrymen. 

There is an instructive sketch by Wm. E. -Curtis, Esq., 
in " Tlie United States and Foreign Powers," referring to 
the year 1857, when Mr. W. B. Reed was appointed Envoy 
and Minister there : 

" The British and French were united, in their demands 
upon China, and desired the assistance of the United States 
in armed co-operation. This, however, was refused. Our 
poHcy was to gain everything necessary by peaceful and 
friendly overtures alone, a course also most consistently 
followed by the Russian minister. Count Pontiatine. Mr. 
Reed was particularly instructed to say to the Chinese that 
we were not parties to the existing hostilities — the second 
opium war, as it may justly be termed, having begun — but 
our people desired only to engage in trade under suitable 
guarantees for their protection, and that the United States 
Government did not wish to legalize the opium trade, in 
violation of the laws of China. 

"The correspondence between the Chinese Commis- 
sioner Yeh, at Canton, and Mr. Reed, is curiously illus- 
trative of the skill and elegance of composition so typical of 
a learned Chinese diplomat. Mr. Reed says that citizens 

of the United States ' have suffered many wrongs from the 
298 



OUR RELATIONS WITH CHINA. 299 

rulers and people of China.' Yeh says: ' But allow me to 
observe that since the merchants and citizens of the United 
States have come to China to trade, they have ever been 
treated with courtesy and kindness, and therefore can have 
no wrongs to redress.' When Mr. 'Reed expressed his 
regret that the Commissioner was unable to meet him for a 
personal interview, the Commissioner replied : * From this 
it is plainly to be perceived that your excellency well under- 
stands the position of things, and the heartfelt regrets which 
you express have greatly tranquillized my feelings' — which 
means that a personal interview is not necessary, and, 
indeed, it was not accorded. In fact, the tranquil and 
extremely arrogant Yeh could not be made to acknowledge 
that there was anything wrong or inoperative about the old 
treaty. ' Our two countries,' he said, ' are like two good 
friends,' and since making the treaty ' are still in every 
respect on the best of terms.' 

" The scene of action now changes. Finding satisfactory 
negotiations at Canton impossible, Mr. Reed determined to 
proceed to Pekin. The British and French fleets were 
about to sail for the mouth of the Peiho, there to demand 
satisfaction for their wrongs, if necessary, by an armed 
demonstration at Pekin. Mr. Reed accompanied them, 
and was an observer of all that took place at Taku, but 
not a participant in any of the warlike operations. All his 
influence was exerted to prevent hostilities, but in vain. 
The allies captured the Taku forts and sailed up the tor- 
tuous channel to Tientsin, where new treaties were drawn 
up by all the Powers represented, and duly signed. It was 
agreed that ratifications should be exchanged the next 
year. 

"The treaty negotiated by Mr. Reed, signed June 18, 
1858, gave the United States the right of direct corres- 



200 OUR RELATIONS WITH CHINA. 

pondence with the Privy Council at the capital. Under 
certain limitations the United States minister was to be 
allowed to visit Pekin annually, but permanent residence 
was not granted. The ports Niuchwang, Tangchow (Che- 
foo), Swatow, Taiwan, Tamsui, and Kiungchow were opened 
to the foreign trade at this time. 

" When this treaty was signed, and for several years 
before and afterwards, the country was in the midst of a 
disastrous civil war, which threatened the dynasty with 
extinction and the restoration of the Mings. This was the 
famous Taiping insurrection. The Emperor, Tao Kuang, 
died on the 26th of February, 1850. 'At the hour niao in 
the morning his celestial majesty transmitted the imperial 
dignity to his fourth son, and in the evening at the hour of 
hai, he set off for the abode of the gods.' The new Em- 
peror was a young man of nineteen, who assumed the title 
of Hienfung. One of his first acts was to dismiss and 
degrade two of the best and hig-hest officers in the court, 
and appoint in their stead, persons most fanatically 
opposed to the foreign barbarians, as the Europeans were 
desiufnated. 

" There was an old prophecy in China that about this 
time, 1 85 1, the former dynasty. of the Mings would be re- 
established. This gave a sort of prophetic promise of vic- 
tory to the rebellion, which just then broke out in Kiansi 
and soon assumed such threatening proportions as seri- 
ously to endanger the government. It was originally a re- 
ligious movement, inspired without any doubt by the teach- 
ings of the Christian missionaries, although by no means 
conducted in the interest, or with any clear conception^ of 
the Christian religion. In 1852 the pretender occupied a 
throne at Nankin and issued edicts dated ' the first year 
of Taiping of the dynasty of the late Mings.' 



OUR RELATIONS WITH CHINA. 301 

"This great rebellion, which for ten long years desolated 
the country, was finally suppressed with foreign aid. The 
British general, Gordon, has won all the fame and laurels 
for the result, but the true victor was the one who organ- 
ized and led the Ever Victorious Army. We read of him 
in English books as ' an American adventurer named 
Ward,' He may have been an adventurer, and he certainly 
was an American named Frederick Ward ; but he fell at 
the head of his men in 1862, at a time when General Gor- 
don had only to reap the honors for the completion of a 
work already nearly done. Whatever may be said on the 
other side as to the relative merits of the two men, the 
one a mere 'adventurer,' if you like, the other an officer in 
the British army, one fact remains to testify how the Chinese 
recognized the services of our countryman. Only two 
foreigners have ever been awarded posthumous honors by 
the emperor of China, One of these is Frederick Ward 
and the other, Anson Burlingame. 

" It soon became obvious that the commissioners were 
determined to delay the exchange of ratifications beyond 
the date appointed, and also that they designed to prevent 
the foreign envoys from reaching Pekin, The latter de- 
cided to lose no more time, so they left Shanghai, and in a 
few days were again at anchor in the Gulf of Pechili. 
Greatly to their surprise they found the entrance to the 
Peiho closed by barricades, and the forts at Taku repaired 
and strengthened. The indications were that the approach 
of the foreig^ners to Pekin would be met with resistance. 
The British admiral demanded the removal of the obstruc- 
tions, adding, that if not removed by the morning of the 
25th of July, he would order them blown up. Mr. Ward, 
however, determined to make an attempt to reach Pekin 
in advance. Accordingly, he crossed the bar early on 



302 OUR RELATIONS WITH CHINA. 

the following day, in a small steamer, but when about half a 
mile from the forts the steamer grounded, and he had to 
remain there until the evening tide enabled him to return 
to the Powhatan. About midnight the British began re- 
moving the barriers, and the forts opened fire on the ships. 
The next day the batde began in earnest, and the British 
suffered an ignominious defeat. This broke off all nego- 
tiations on the part of the English and French, who forth- 
with returned to Shanghai. 

" Mr. Ward, however, opened correspondence with the 
governor of Chihli and expressed his desire to visit Pekin 
in accordance with the provisions of the treaty. In reply 
the governor stated that he would be conducted to Pekin 
from Pehtang, a port a few miles north of Taku ; and that 
carts, horses and coolies would be provided for the journey 
by the provincial treasury. Accordingly Mr. Ward and his 
suite went to Pekin, but subjected to annoying restrictions. 

"The next year the British and French returned to the 
Peiho with a powerful fleet and army. They again cap- 
tured the forts at Taku, and marched to Pekin. Their 
treaties were ratified in the Hall of Ceremonies, and the 
British embassy was then established in the city." 

It has always been the policy of the United States to 
treat with the Asiatic Nations diplomatically, and not by 
force of arms. There is only one instance in history where 
our guns were turned against China, and that was through 
no fault of the home government. It was Josiah Tattnall, 
flag-officer of the Asiatic station, who was born in Bona- 
venture near Savannah, Georgia, and was educated in 
England under the supervision of his grandfather in 1805- 
II. On returning to the United States in 181 1, he entered 
the navy as a midshipman, and on the 15th of October, 
1857, was appointed flag-officer of the Asiadc station. 



OUR RELATIONS WITH CHINA. 303 

He found China at war with the allied English and French 
fleets, and went to the scene of operations at Peiho. 
Shortly before the engagement his flag-ship grounded and 
was towed off by the English boats. This service was 
taken as an excuse for subsequent active participation 
in the attack on the Chinese. In explanation of his 
violation of neutrality, Tattnall exclaimed that " blood 
was thicker than water." He was sustained in his course 
by public opinion at the time, and also by the govern- 
ment. On February 2nd, 1861, he resigned his commis- 
sion as captain in the navy, and offered his services to 
the governor of Georgia. He was commissioned senior 
flag-officer of the Georgia navy February 28th, 1861, and 
in March, 1861, he became a captain in the Confederate 
navy, and was ordered to command the naval defences of 
Georgia and South Carolina. On November 7th, 1861, he 
led an improvised naval force against the attack on Port 
Royal. He conducted attacks on the blockading fleet at 
the mouth of the Savannah, constructed batteries for the 
defence of that river, and materially delayed the operations 
of the national forces. In March, 1862, he was ordered to 
relieve Franklin Buchanan, who was wounded in the 
engagement with the " Monitor," and took command of the 
" Merrimac " and the naval defences of the waters of Vir- 
ginia. 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE BEGINNING OF SPANISH DECADENCE. 

Disturbances in Spain Offer South Americans Opportunities for Freedom 
— Loyalty to Spain Requited by Tyranny and Massacre — Feeling 
Against the Bonapartes in Colombia — The Usual Pompous Proclama- 
tions — Spaniards Sent to Fill all Places and the People Robbed — The 
Same Misgovernment that has Brought Cuba to Woe — How the South 
American Republics were Almost a Confederacy in the Revolutionary 
Period — The Native Americans Opposing the Spaniards — The Same 
Grievances Existed from Paraguay and Chili to Venezuela — The Char- 
acter and Career of Simon Bolivar. 

The Revolution and war in Colombia was more import- 
ant than in any other part of South America, for there 
the war commenced, the struggle was more protracted 
and severe, and here, too, Spain made her greatest exer- 
tions, and the success of the revolution in Colombia, in 
no small degree, has been the means of the ultimate 
triumph of Liberty's cause through the Spanish Ameri- 
can dominions. 

We shall therefore, in noticing the causes of events which 
led to the revolution, have to consider many, whose influence 
was general on all parts of the Spanish dominions in 
America, as well as on those now constituting the Colom- 
bian Republic. 

The first causes of the civil commotions in America are 
to be sought for in the disturbances which occurred in 
Spain. These disturbances, the offspring of the ambitious 
views of Napoleon Bonaparte, although without his inten- 
tion, prepared the way for the revolution in South America, 
and in this view have been productive of important benefits 
304 



THE BEGINNING OF SPANISH DECADENCE. 



305 



to the inhabitants of that country, and to the world. His 
proceedings at Bayonne, in compelHng Ferdinand to abdi- 
cate the throne of Spain in favor of Joseph Bonaparte, and 
the evident designs of Napoleon, threw Spain into confusion. 
The loyalty, and spirit of the nation was roused, and the 
people refused to submit to a monarch imposed on them by 
treachery, and supported by foreign bayonets. In the 
provinces not occupied by the French, juntas were estab- 
lished, which assumed the government of their districts ; 
and that at Seville styling itself the supreme junta of Spain 
and the Indies, dispatched deputies to the different govern- 
ments in America, requiring an acknowledgment of its 
authority ; to obtain which, it was represented that the junta 
was acknowledged and obeyed throughout Spain. At the 
same time, the regency created at Madrid by Ferdinand, 
when he left his capital, and the junta at Asturias, each 
claimed superiority, and endeavored to direct the affairs of 
the nation. 

Napoleon, on his part, was not less attentive to America ; 
agents were sent in the name of Joseph, king of Spain, to 
communicate to the colonies the abdication of Ferdinand, 
and his own accession to the vacant throne, and to procure 
the recognition of his authority by the Americans. Thus 
the obedience of the colonies was demanded by no less 
than four tribunals, each claiming to possess supreme 
authority at home. There could scarcely have occurred a 
conjuncture more favorable for the colonists to throw off 
their dependence on Spain, being convulsed as she was by 
a civil war, the king a prisoner, the monarchy subverted, 
and the people unable to agree among themselves where 
the supreme authority was vested, or which of the pretend- 
ers to it were to be obeyed. The power of the parent 
state over Its colonies was de facto at an end ; in conse- 



3o6 THE BEGINNING OF SPANISH DECADENCE. 

quence of which, they were, in a measure, required to " pro- 
vide new guards for their security." But so totally unpre- 
pared were the colonists for a political revolution, that 
instead of these events being regarded as auspicious to 
their prosperity, they only served to prove the strength of 
their loyalty and attachment to Spain. Notwithstanding 
that the viceroys and captain-generals, excepting the 
viceroy of New Spain, manifested a readiness to acquiesce 
in the cessions of Bayonne, to yield to the new order of 
things, and to sacrifice their king, provided they could 
retain their places, in which they were confirmed by the new 
king, the news of the occurrences in Spain filled the people 
with indignation ; they publicly burnt the proclamations 
sent out by King Joseph, expelled his agents, and such was 
their racre, that all Frenchmen in the colonies became the 
subject of insult and execration. 

As the disorders in the peninsula continued, and no 
sovereign power existed there which the colonies could 
respect, a number of the most distinguished inhabitants of 
Caraccas presented a petition to Cacas, the captain-general, 
recommending the establishment of a junta, similar to 
those in Spain, 

These sentiments led to the establishment of a junta in 
the province of Quito, in August, 1809; ^^^^ the Marquis 
Selva Allegre was chosen its president. A similar junta 
had previously been created in La Paz, the capital of one 
of the districts under the dominion of the audience of 
Charcas, and was suppressed by the military force of the 
viceroy of Buenos Ayres. The viceroy of New Granada, 
Don Amar, determined to destroy the junta formed at 
Quito ; but desirous of exhibiting an appearance of acting 
in conformity to the will of the people, he convened the 
principal inhabitants of Santa Fe de Bogota, for the pur- 




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THE BEGINNING OF SPANISH DECADENCE. 



309 



pose of consulting them on the subject ; beHeving that 
they would not have independence sufficient to oppose his 
will. In this, however, he was disappointed ; the assembly 
not only approved of the proceedings at Quito, but de- 
clared that a similar body ought to be formed in Santa Fe, 
for the security of the country, in case Spain should finally 
be conquered by the French. 

When the assembly again met, they were surprised to 
see that the guards of the palace were doubled, and that 
great military preparations had been made, as if an enemy 
was approaching the city. But even this seasonable dis- 
play of military force did not have the effect of overawing 
the assembly; its debates were bold and spirited. The 
viceroy took immediate steps to suppress the popular junta 
at Quito by an armed force ; and the viceroy of Peru hav- 
ing dispatched troops for the same object, the junta was 
obliged to yield to a power which it had no means of resist- 
ing. And although an assurance was given by the presi- 
dent of the audiencia of Quito, that no one should, in any 
way, suffer on account of what had taken place, yet in vio- 
lation of this plighted faith, a large number of those who 
had belonged to, or supported the popular government, 
were arrested and imprisoned ; and on the 2d of August, 
the following year, they were all massacred in prison, under 
pretense of revolt. The troops stationed in the city, after 
massacring the prisoners, were suffered to plunder the in- 
habitants ; the scene of rapine and carnage was shocking, 
and involved the property of thousands, and the lives of 
more than three hundred persons, murdered in cold blood. 
The anniversary of the fate of these early victims to the 
liberation and independence of Colombia, was commemo- 
rated by order of the junta of Caraccas, in 1810, in a solemn 
manner, with appropriate funeral honors. 



3IO THE BEGINNING OF SPANISH DECADENCE. 

These tyrannical and sanguinary measures, producing 
great excitement throughout the colonies, tended to weaken 
the attachment that was felt towards the parent country. 
Few individuals, however, even thought of independence; 
on the contrary, all were anxious for a re-establishment of 
the government of Spain, and a reformation in the colonies. 
The intelligence of the disturbance in America, and the 
violent measures pursued by the colonial chiefs, alarmed 
the central junta of old Spain, and with a view to conciliate 
the wounded feelings of the Americans, they issued a 
pompous declaration, in which they asserted that "the colo- 
nies were equal to the mother country." But this was 
entirely deceptive ; no reformation of the system, no cor- 
rection of abuses, was attempted; and, notwithstanding the 
disturbances which the violence of the governors had occa- 
sioned, Spaniards were sent to America to fill all places, 
and to occupy all public employment, as had been done for 
ages past ; while the colonies were still drained of money 
to supply the pressing wants of Spain, engaged in a strug- 
gle with the gigantic power of France. 

Nothing could exceed the astonishment of the Americans, 
when, at the very time they were expecting to hear of the 
final triumph of the patriots in Spain, and the restoration 
of Ferdinand VII., they learned that the French were mas- 
ters of Madrid, and that the central junta had been driven 
to Andalusia. But their confidence in the courafje of the 
people of Spain remained unshaken ; and instead of being 
discouraged by these disasters, they only served to awaken 
the zeal of the Americans in the cause of the mother coun- 
try, which they still regarded as their own. Hence, not 
only the regular remittances were made, but large sums 
were raised by subscriptions from every class of the popu- 
lation. 



THE BEGINNING OF SPANISH DECADENCE. 311 

There was the same situation after the American and 
French revolutions, and the fall of Spain for a time into 
the hands of Napoleon, in all the countries of Spanish 
America — the same confusion as to rulers — the same cling- 
ing to the Spanish dynasties — the same doubts as to the 
authority of the juntas — the same bitterness of the natives 
of Spain in contesting the aspirations for equal rights with 
them by the natives of America — the same cruelties, and 
through all the wars, characteristic combats. It was within 
the consciousness of the people of Central and South 
America that they had far greater wrongs to redress than 
those in North America which ceased to be the colonies 
of Great Britain and became the United States. In the 
long wars and the many contentions as to forms of govern- 
ment, there was developed neither a Washington nor a Na- 
poleon, though many able men appeared in affairs, military 
and civil. The one name that stands first in the world's 
consideration, of the patriots of South America, is Simon 
Bolivar, and his history cannot be written without in- 
cluding largely that of several countries. Mr. Holstein's 
" Memoirs of Bolivar " open with these just observations : 

" To trace with justice and impartiality the history of 
powerful men who have not yet finished their career, is by 
no means an easy task. Burke says ' that death canonizes 
a great character.' In the political and military life of 
General Bolivar, many traits, however, have already ap- 
peared, which give a correct knowledge of the character 
and talents of the Liberator. 

" The most extravagant and contradictory opinions have, 
at different times, been given of General Bolivar. Some 
say, ' He is a great — an extraordinary man ; a man of 
transcendent knowledge and talents ; the hero of South 
America ; the benefactor of his country ; its Washington ; 



312 THE BEGINNING OF SPANISH DECADENCE. 

its Napoleon.' Others assure us ' He is the Cromwell, the 
tyrant, the oppressor of his country.' Truth is rarely to 
be found in any extreme. 

" That such various opinions should have been received 
of this man, is not at all surprising, when we consider that 
the majority of mankind are inclined to admire splendor, 
power and success ; and the more so, when the object of 
their attention is beyond their own sphere; moreover, 
they blame or approve, according to their own interest or 
feelings. Rarely is their opinion formed from the evidence 
of truth, or with the spirit of impartiality. But the pro- 
fessed defender of freedom and the rights of man, natu- 
rally attract our attention more and more intensely by 
every successful event." 

The actions of General Bolivar have been considered as 
being in accordance with the wishes of all liberal and en- 
lightened men ; nay, with those of every oppressed and 
enslaved being. His smallest successes have given general 
satisfaction, and every eye has been fixed upon him and his 
proceedings. But without any exact and positive knowl- 
edge of facts, each individual has formed his own idea of 
General Bolivar, in conformity with his own wishes, and 
with his confused and incorrect notions of events on the 
main. Public opinion was soon captivated to such a degree 
that whatever accurately informed and impartial men could 
say against the Liberator was disregarded, and treated as 
mere calumny, or coming from the agents of the Holy Al- 
liance, from enemies of the cause of freedom, or from rash 
adventurers. The majority of the public have been pre- 
vented from judging for themselves, and have continued to 
contemplate General Bolivar as the hero, the father, the 
liberator of South America. 

Various causes, in the commencement of General Bolivar's 



THE BEGINNING OF SPANISH DECADENCE. 



313 



career, contribute to form these opinions : First. The great 
difficulty of procuring exact information, because every one 
possessing it, had his own opinions, his own views, his own 
interests, while corresponding with his friends ; others con- 
cealed the real state of facts, or circumstances which might 
enlighten, fearing their letters might be intercepted or 
miscarry, or that their names might be mentioned by their 
friends, and so their interest be affected. 

Secondly. The bulletins and proclamations of the rulers 
in Colombia, on many occasions, have been very extrava- 
gant and partial, as is generally the case with documents 
of this description, in every army throughout the world. 
These bulletins and proclamations have been faithfully trans- 
lated without comment, without any of the particulars which 
would give a correct idea of the events, and have naturally 
inspired gigantic notions of the power of armies in Colom- 
bia ; and of the heroic bravery and deep military skill of the 
leaders of these armies. Besides, the Spanish language is 
distinguished from all others by its pompous phrases, which 
give it an agreeable and high-sounding expression. The 
effect of the language, too, is enhanced by the Caraguin 
character, which is generally vain and boasting. And so it 
has happened that a skirmish, in which, in fact, only a few 
men were killed or wounded, was given out as a regular 
and bloody battle. 

Thirdly. We are in absolute want of a good, detailed and 
exact history of the events of the revolution, and of the 
contending parties from 18 10 to the present time. It is a 
fact, that the people of the United States know litde or 
nothing with certainty of what has passed, and is still pass- 
ing in Colombia. Our gazettes give some accounts, but 
they are few and exceedingly imperfect. 

The imperfect and erroneous statements which have been 



314 THE BEGINNING OE SPANISH DECADENCE. 

published, and the exaggerated proclamations and bulletins 
have chiefly influenced public opinion ; the habit, too, of 
thinking General Bolivar a great and extraordinary man, a 
hero, has been growing since 1813. and has increased to 
such a deo-ree that It will be a difficult task to convince men 
of the exaggeration of their ideas, and the extravagance of 
their notions respecting him. 

So far as I am concerned, I can declare, that I have neither 
desire nor interest to flatter or calumniate General Bolivar. 
I vouch for the correctness of all the facts contained in 
these memoirs, well knowing that this work will obtain only 
that degree of credit with the public which it may appear 
to merit by its accuracy and candor. 

Simon Bolivar was born in the city of Caraccas, July 24, 
1783, and is the second son of Don Juan Vicente Bolivar y 
Ponte, a military colonel in the plains of Aragua, and Dona 
Maria Conception Palaclos y Sojo ; and both were natives 
of Caraccas, and were Mantuanas. The first died in 1 786, 
the latter in 1789. 

Young Bolivar was sent to Spain at the age of fourteen, 
in compliance with the custom of the wealthy Americans of 
those times, who usually spent In one year in Europe, the 
amount of several years' income at home ; seeking office 
and military decorations, that were often put up to the 
highest bidder, under the administration of Manuel Godoy, 
Prince of the Peace. The young Americans were likewise 
accustomed to go to Spain to complete their education, and 
to pursue their studies In the profession of law, physic, or 
theology; for, according to the laws of the time, no Ameri- 
can was admitted to the bar, and allowed to practice in his 
profession in the universities of old Spain, nor could he 
exercise his profession at home without a diploma from a 
university in Spain. Without the same qualification, too. no 



THE BEGINNING OF SPANISH DECADENCE. 315 

American could, at least in New Granada, have the honor 
of being a Capuchin Friar ! But as the object of young 
Simon was to see the world, and not in any manner to study 
seriously, he paid little attention to any object other than 
that of pleasure, and of satisfying his desire to witness the 
different scenes of life. He, however, devoted some time 
to the study of jurisprudence. 

He was at this period lieutenant in the corps of militia 
in the plains of Aragua, of which his father had been com- 
mander. He had an elder brother, who died in 181 5, and 
two sisters who enjoyed an annual income of from ^40,000 
to ^50,000, the produce of several considerable estates, and 
particularly of an extensive Hato, on which were raised 
larg-e herds of cattle. These estates were at no great dis- 
tance from the city of Caraccas, and at one or another of 
them Bolivar and his family usually resided. San Mateo 
was, however, the place he always preferred. It was the 
largest of his possessions, where between 1,000 and 1,500 
slaves were regularly kept before the revolution. His res- 
idence in the valley of Aragua, not far from the lake of 
Valencia, was beautiful and striking. The famous Boves 
destroyed it in 18 14. 

From Spain Bolivar passed into France, and resided at 
Paris, where he remained a number of years enjoying, at 
an early period, all the pleasures of life, which a rich young 
man, with bad examples constantly before him, can there 
easily find. I have remarked that whenever Bolivar spoke 
to me of the Palais Royal, he could not restrain himself 
from boasting of its delights. It was on such occasions 
that all his soul was electrified ; his physiognomy became 
animated, and he spoke and gesticulated with such ardor as 
showed how fond he was of that enchanting abode so dan- 
gerous to youth. 



3i6 THE BEGINNING OF SPANISH DECADENCE. 

In the year 1823 Mr. Ackermann published In London a 
very interesting monthly periodical in the Spanish language, 
under the title of " El Mensagero." It was entirely devoted 
to the affairs of the new Spanish republics. It contains, 
among other articles, a biograpJiical sketch of General Boli- 
var', in which the author asserts that the young Bolivar, 
during his residence in Paris, gave himself up to all the 
possible amusements of young men of his age : " Still," 
said the author, " he was assiduous to obtain the dear object 
he has always had in view, as the accomplishment of all his 
wishes, and his ambition, namely, that of making with eager- 
ness all possible acquaintances which might have been useful 
to him for the emajicipation of his cotmtryy 

There is a freedom of personal disparagement in these 
Memoirs that gives great force to the compliment that 
defines his public ambition. He had many military vicissi- 
tudes. He was not an extreme partisan, and that was 
great gain to him, but he did not escape calumny, as one 
who was sanguinary and merciless. The nature of the 
warfare as conducted appears in the Spanish treatment of 
Col. Bricenno, who was defeated and taken prisoner with 
seven of his officers, and the governor of Barinas, Don 
Francisco Tiscar, ordered them to be shot. Eight of the 
most respectable inhabitants of Barinas, being suspected 
of having assisted Colonel Bricenno in his organization, 
were also shot! From that time the war became much 
more bloody and murderous. Not only was every prisoner 
shot, but various Spanish chieftains extended this system 
to the peaceable inhabitants. 

The reason the governor (Tiscar) gave, for ordering the 
death of Bricenno and his officers was, their having been 
the principal instigators and signers of the proclamation of 
January 16, 181 3, in which they declared they would put 



THE BEGINNING OF SPANISH DECADENCE. 



317 



to death all Spaniards and Islennos (inhabitants of the 
Canary Islands) that might be taken prisoners. 

Of that sanguinary document, the following are the true 
causes : " Bolivar and his companions, while upon their 
march from Carthagena to V^enezuela, heard that the 
Spaniards and Islennos committed the most barbarous acts 
upon the peaceable inhabitants in Venezuela, who, in virtue 
of the convention between Miranda and Monteverde, had 
confidently resumed their former occupations." It will be 
remembered that Monteverde was born in one of the 
Canary Islands. Surrounded as he was, by numbers of 
his countrymen, he was weak enough to concede altoge- 
ther to their passions, and their hatred against all who 
took an active part in the revolution at Caraccas. This 
news so enraged the Caraguins, companions in arms of 
General Bolivar, that they published a solemn declaration, 
in form of a manifesto, in which they proclaimed the " war 
of death " against all the European Spaniards and Islennos. 

Bolivar was falsely accused of signing this document, 
but he did not. While the Spaniards were engaged in 
dissensions ; he united the patriots, gained victories, and 
made a triumphant entry into Caraccas, the capital of his 
native land, August 4, 18 13. 

The enthusiasm was universal, reaching every class and 
each sex of the inhabitants of Caraccas. The women came 
to crown their liberator. They spread the ground with 
many flowers and branches of laurel and olive on his pass- 
age through the streets of the capital. The shouts of thou- 
sands were mingled with the noise of artillery, bells and 
music ; and the crowd was immense. The prisons were 
opened and the unfortunate victims of liberty came forth 
with pale and emaciated faces, like spectres from their 
graves. 



31 S THE BEGINNING OF SPANISH DECADE ACE. 

The writer of the memoirs tells this story. Previous to 
his entry into Caraccas, a kind of triumphal car was prepared, 
like that which the Roman consuls used on returning from 
a campaign, after an important victory. Theirs was drawn 
by horses ; but Bolivar's car was drawn by twelve fine 
young ladies, very elegantly dressed in white, adorned with 
the national colors, and all selected from the first families 
in Caraccas. They drew him in about half an hour from 
the entrance of the city to his residence ; he standing on 
the car bareheaded and in full uniform, and he assumed, 
after a few days, the title of " Dictator and Liberator of the 
Western Provinces of Venezuela." Bolivar gave the name of 
"liberating army" to all those troops that came with him, 
and established an order of knighthood called, " The Order 
of the Liberator." 



CHAPTER XXI. 

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF IN CUBA. 

The Spanish Colonial System in South America too strong for the Home 
Government, and Intolerable and Irreconcilable in its Oppression and 
Animosity — It is the same story told in the Current History of Cuba — 
The Colonies of Spain were intensely attached to her, but cruelly 
Spurned — Nothing Short of Slavery would suffice — The Confederacy of 
Colombia— French and British Influence — American Sympathizers with 
Cuba owe Historical Regard to Colombia — The Revolutions in the 
United States and France agitate the World — British Pohcy hostile to 
Spain, and the Influence of the Intrusion of Napoleon — Proclamation of 
the Governor of Trinidad — British Expedidon to La Plata — Defeated 
at Mondmaro — Pitt's Policy — The War for Independence in Mexico 
reads like late Cuban News. 

The very confusion into which the people of the Spanish 
possessions of northern South America fell, owing to the 
partial conquest of Spain by Napoleon, caused a protrac- 
tion of the struggle in various communities, because no 
one seemed to remain competent to make peace. The 
historian Niles says : 

" The natural, but mistaken apprehension of a union among states similarly 
situated, and having a common interest, of which history affords so many 
examples, has been strikingly illustrated in Colombia. When the country- 
threw oft" the Spanish yoke, not only Venezuela and New Granada, which had 
been separate governments, but many of the provinces of each, formed juntas 
for themselves, declared their independence, and raised military forces to 
maintain it, not only against the authority of Spain, but that of the general 
governments established by the revolutionists claiming jurisdiction over them. 
In New Granada, the congress, composed of deputies from a number of the 
provinces, were obliged to make war upon the provinces of Cundanimarca 
and Carthagena, to force them into a union, or to compel obedience to its 
decrees. Although these contentions disparaged and greatly injured the 
provinces, yet it is not improbable that the existence of so many independent 
governments was, on the whole, serviceable in the prosecution of the war. 
Hostilities were carried on by the general governments of Venezuela and New 

319 



^20 HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF IN CUBA. 

Granada, and also by the governments of many of the provinces at the same 
time, in conjunction or separately, and sometimes in the latter mode, when they 
were at war with each other. When the patriots were overcome in one province, 
they kept up resistance in another; and when the armies of congress were 
defeated, and the government itself overthrown, still the provincial juntas 
would keep ahve the spirit of resistance. When the cause was prostrated in 
Venezuela, it was maintained in New Granada, and the former again liberated 
by troops furnished by the latter. The existence of so many independent 
separate governments, all of whom were engaged in carrying on the war, 
distracted the attention of the Spanish chiefs, and greatly embarrassed their 
operations ; but, on the other hand, it prevented the concentration of power, 
and the establishment of an energetic and efficient government, as well as 
occasioned almost constant dissensions. It required a long course of fatal 
experience to overcome the apprehensions and prejudices which existed 
against a consolidated government, embracing all the provinces composing the 
present territory of Colombia ; and it is probable that it could not have been 
effected, at least in a peaceable manner, except for the influence of Bolivar. 
The government established in Venezuela in i8i i, was a confederacy similar to 
that of the United States, and at that time, and long after, was almost univer- 
sally popular both in Venezuela and New Granada. General Miranda, by 
favoring a more concentrated and energetic government, gave great offence, 
and occasioned himself to be viewed with suspicion. The province (now 
department) of Cundanimarca, in 1814, could not be induced to unite, under 
the most urgent circumstances, with the other provinces, with which it had 
formerly been connected, and the employment of troops and the capture of 
Bogota, its capital, only, could compel it tojoin the confederation. When these 
circumstances are considered, it is apparent that the revolution, in the public mind 
must have been great, which should have led to the union of Venezuela and 
New Granada, an event not apparently even thought of at the time of which we 
have been speaking; and to the estabhshment of a government, which is not a 
confederacy of provinces, but an entire consolidation of them into one state, with 
a unity of authority. The first of these events took place in December, 1819, 
when, after the overthrow of the royal power, by the great victory of Boyaca, 
a congress was convened at Angostura. Bolivar delivered to the congress an 
elaborate speech, in which he showed that he had studied profoundly the prin- 
ciples of government, their forms, and their spirit. The object of this speech 
was to produce a conviction of the importance of a union of Venezuela and 
New Granada, and the establishment of an efficient government. On the 17th 
of the month a fundamental law was passed, which united, in one state, Vene- 
zuela and New Granada, to be called the Reptiblic of Colombia. 

"The prevailing anxiety of the colonists, from the commencement of the 
disturbances in Spain, had been an apprehension of falling under the power of 
Bonaparte, in the event of his becoming master of the Spanish peninsula ; and 
as the cause of the Spanish patriots became more desperate, the fears of the 



HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF IN CUBA. 321 

colonists increased. 'What will become of us if Spain shall be conquel^ed ? ' 
was a question universally asked ; and its discussion directly led to to the con- 
sideration of the necessity and right of providing new guards for their own 
security. The question admitted of only two answers ; for if Spain fell under 
the power of France, her colonies must have shared her fate, or taken care of 
themselves. The case supposed, presented but one alternative to America ; to 
fall under the power of France, or become independent. The first ideas which 
the Spanish Americans had of independence did not relate to independence as 
it respected Spain, but as to France. How different was the origin of the revolu- 
tion which resulted in the independence of the British-American colonies from 
that which separated the Spanish colonies from the mother country. The 
revolution in the British colonies originated from measures of oppression on the 
part of the parent state, and long and systematical resistance to those measures 
on the part of the colonies. The Anglo-Americans were alarmed from an 
apprehension of being oppressed by the parent country ; but the Spanish- 
Americans, although tyrannized over by Spain for centuries, were terrified at 
the prospect of the overthrow of the power of their oppressors, and they 
detested the idea of being placed under the dominion of a foreign power. 

" The news of the disastrous events in the Spanish peninsula, and the procla- 
mation of the regency, reached Caraccas in the year 1810, and occasioned great 
alarm. The struggle in Spain was believed to be nearly at an end, and the final 
triumph of Bonaparte certain. At such a conjuncture the inhabitants felt it to 
be their duty and their right to provide for their own security ; the legitimate 
government of the mother country being annihilated, and the colonies exposed 
to fall into the hands of a foreign power. 

"The prime object of the colonial rulers was to keep the colonies in a state 
of dependence on some power in Europe, and they seemed hardly to care where 
or what it was. And it is not difficult to discover the motives of this conduct ; 
as long as America could be kept in a state of dependence, the colonial rulers 
supposed a readiness to acknowledge any authority which claimed dominion 
over Spain, and consequently over America, was the most sure way of preserv- 
ing their stations. They wished to keep America dependent, not so much from 
a regard to the interests of Spain, as to preserve their own power, being very 
sensible that they could have no part in any government constituted by the 
people. Hence, the violence with which they pursued the American patriots; 
every act, every movement tending toward the independence of the colonies, 
although temporary, and with the entire and express recognition of Ferdinand 
VII., was regarded as a blow aimed at their own power. This is the cause of 
the fury with which they pursued the first patriots in the colonies ; and the 
zeal they pretended to feel for their country was stimulated by an apprehension 
of losing their own power. 

"The influence which the condition of Spain had on her colonies, the meas- 
ures that the Americans had adopted, and the violence with which they had 
been opposed by the Spanish rulers, both in Spain and the colonies, had greatly 



^22 HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF IN CUBA. 

increased the jealousy and unfriendly feelings between the Creoles, or native 
Americans, and the European-Spaniards in America. In July, 1810, an affray 
occurred at Santa Fe de Bogota, which originated from a European-Spaniard 
insulting a native American, and including in the opprobrious and reproachful 
language which he applied to him, all his countrymen. The quarrel between 
these two individuals soon assumed a serious aspect; the citizens collecting to 
the scene of contention, the Spaniards joining on the side of their countrymen, 
and the Creoles taking part with theirs, a contest ensued, in which the latter, 
being the most numerous, were triumphant. Under the influence of the excite- 
ment which this popular contest had occasioned, a meeting of the inhabitants 
was convened and a junta established. In Chili the Captain-General exas- 
perated the people to such a degree that he was obliged to resign his office, and 
a junta was formed in September; and in Mexico an insurrection broke out 
the same month in consequence of the violent measures of Venegas, the new 
Viceroy." 

The fact that the rebels recognized Ferdinand had no 
influence on the colonial system of Spain, and the Regency 
of Spain declared Caraccas to be in a state of blockade in 
this decree, August 31, 18 10: 

" Scarcely had the council of regency received intelligence of the occurrences 
at Caraccas, whose inhabitants, instigated no doubt by some intriguing and 
factious persons, were guilty of declaring themselves indepaident of the 7)iother 
country, and of forming a governing Junta to exercise this supposed indepefide?tt 
authority, -when it determined to take the most active a7id efficacious means to 
attack the evil in its origin atid prevent its progress. But in order to proceed 
with mature deliberation the regency consulted the council of Spain and the 
Indies, and has taken such measures as will answer the end proposed, particu- 
larly as neither the province of Maracaibo, nor the department of Coro, have 
taken part in the criminal proceedings ; but, 07i the contrary^ have acknowledged 
the council of regency, atid takett the most efficacious measures to oppose the 
absurd idea of Caraccas declaring herself ijidcpendent, ivithout being possessed 
of the meajts of obtaitiing independence ! The regency hereby declares the 
province of Caraccas in a state of rigorous blockade, etc. These resolutions 
do not extend to the above-mentioned divisions, which, having refused to follow 
the pernicious examples of Caraccas, have manifested their constant fidelity by 
opposing the plan of rebellion, which only originated in the unlimited ambition 
of some persons and in the blind credulity of others, who suffered themselves 
to be hurried away by the ardent passions of their fellow-countrymen. The 
regency has taken the most secure -measures to extirpate these evils, and to 
punish the authors of them with all the rigor which the rights of sovereignty 
authorize it to use, unless there be a previous and voluntary submission, in 



HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF IN CUBA. 33. 

which case the regency grants them a general pardon. The regency commands 
that these resohitions be circulated through all the Spanish dominions, that 
they may be carried into effect there as well as in foreign countries, and that 
they may act conformably with the measures taken for the blockade of the said 
coasts," etc. 

The historian Niles says : 

" This decree of the regency was a declaration of war, and its authors, without 
inquiring into the causes which occasioned the measures pursued in the colonies, 
or making a single effort for conciliation, rashly plunged the two countries into 
all the horrors of civil war. The answer of the junta of Caraccas to the Marquis 
de las Hermanzas, minister in Spain, containing an expose of the reasons which 
occasioned the establishment of the junta, and justifying the measure, instead 
of tending to allay the feelings of the regency, and the people of Spain, greatly 
inflamed them. 

"Emissaries were sent to Porto Rico, Montevideo, Panama and Mexico, for 
the purpose of arousing political and religious prejudices in favor of Spain, 
and against the new governments in America, by making promises to some 
and threatening others, to produce dissensions among the patriots, thus to 
destroy the new governments in the bud. But the principal reliance of the 
rulers of Spain was on the sword, and consequently troops were sent to Monte- 
video, Vera Cruz, Coro, Santa Martha and Panama, with a view to dragoon 
the Americans into submission ; although at this time every soldier was wanted 
at home for the defence of the country. The rage, however, which prevailed 
against the invaders of their own country, violent as it was, did not equal that 
towards the rebellious Americans. The animosity of the Cortes against the 
colonists corresponded with the feelings of the regency, and although some 
Americans, who happened at the time to be in the Isle of Leon, were chosen 
members of the Cortes, so strong were the feelings of that body, they scarcely 
dared to speak in favor of their countrymen." 

It will be perceived that this is the same story as that 
of Cuba, with the difference that the loyalty of Cuba to 
Spain during the Bonaparte invasion was exceptional. The 
Spaniards were so slow to understand the Americans that 
they found those who would have been with them always 
alienated before there was a thought of conciliation. The 
American members of the Cortes, in January, 181 1, sub- 
mitted propositions of conciliation, a most instructive docu- 
ment, as follows : 

" 1st. In conformity to the decree of the central junta, dated the 15th .of 



324 HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF IN CUBA. 

October, 1809, which declared the inhabitants of Spanish-America equal in 
rights to those of the Peninsula, the national representation of every part of 
Spanish-America, the Spanish West Indies, and the Philippine Islands, includ- 
ino- every class of their inhabitants, shall be the same in form, manner, and 
without distinction, as in the kingdom and islands of European Spain. 

" 2d. The free natives and inhabitants of Spanish- America shall be allowed 
to plant and cultivate whatever their chmate will produce, with license to 
encourage industry, and to promote manufactures and arts to their fullest 
extent. 

" 3d. Spanish-America shall enjoy the liberty of exporting her own natural 
and manufactured productions to the Peninsula, as well as to the allies and to 
neutral nations ; and of importing whatever she may want. All her ports are 
consequently to be opened." [This and the preceding demand were agreed 
to, but the order to carry them into execution was never published.] 

"4th. There shall be a free trade between Spanish-America and the Spanish 
settlements in Asia. Everything militating against this freedom to be abolished. 

" 5th. Freedom of trade to be granted from all the ports in Spanish-America 
and the Phihppine Islands to other parts of Asia. Any law existing contrary 
to such freedom to be annulled. 

" 6th. All estancos or monopolies in favor of the public treasury or of the 
kino-, shall be suppressed ; but the public treasury shall be indemnified for the 
loss of the profits arising from such monopoly by new duties on the same 
articles. 

" 7th. The working of the quicksilver mines shall be free in Spanish- 
America, but the administration of the produce shall remain in charge of the 
officers of the mining department, independent of the viceroys and captain- 
general, and officers of the real hacienda." [This was granted, and orders 
were published for carrying it into execution in the provinces under the 
Spaniards.] 

" 8th. All Spanish-Americans shall be eligible equally with Spaniards to all 
appointments of rank or emolument, whether at court or in any part of the 
monarchy, — either in political, mihtary or ecclesiastical departments. 

"9th. Consulting the natural protection of each kingdom in Spanish-America, 
half of the public appointments shall be filled by Spanish subjects born in 
America. 

" loth. That the above stipulations may be punctually adhered to, a con- 
sultive junta shall be formed in each capital, to the intent that it may propose 
persons suited to fill each vacancy." 

This has the flavor of the futile autonomist literature in 
Cuba ; and the fatalities of the Spanish colonial system 
that appeared in South America have been duplicated in 
current Cuban experience. The people of the United States 




PRESIDENT MCKINLEY'S WAR MESSAGE ON ITS WAY TO CONGRESS. 



HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF IN CUBA. 327 

who sympathize so keenly with the Cubans, owe historical 
respect for the South Americans, who won their indepen- 
dence througrh the same course of horrors and sorrows. 

The Bonapartes finding that the Americans disliked the 
French so intensely they would never submit to France, did 
what they could to promote a coalition in Spanish-America. 
Joseph Bonaparte dispatched agents to America for the 
purpose of exciting and encouraging the revolution there ; 
giving them full and minute instructions, embracing even 
the motto to be inscribed on the revolutionary banners, 
which was, " Long live the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman 
religion, and perish the bad government." These instruc- 
tions were given to M. Desmolard, of Baltimore, who was 
the principal agent of Joseph Bonaparte, and to other emis- 
saries sent into the colonies. 

A copy of these instructions was found in Caraccas, in 
the office of the secretary of the junta, and forwarded to 
the admiral of the Barbadoes station, as a caution against 
the intrigues of the Bonapartes. The French agents pene- 
trated into different parts of the American settlements, and 
one of them was discovered in the town of Habana and 
shot. 

The court of St. James, in 1797, openly encouraged a 
revolution in Venezuela, as appears by the proclamation of 
the governor of Trinidad. Spain then being an ally of 
France, and her resources wasted by Napoleon in support- 
ing his wars against England and her allies, the British 
ministry wished to separate her colonies from Spain, to 
deprive her of the supplies she received from them, and 
also to secure to Great Britain a lucrative trade with 
America. But after the general rising in Spain against 
Bonaparte, the tables were turned, and the Spaniards, from 
being the enemies of Great Britain, became her friends and 
19 



8 HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF IN CUBA. 

allies. Feeling interested in the success of the war prose- 
cuting- in the Spanish peninsula against France, Great 
Britain became the mediator between Spain and her col- 
onies, and in June, 1810, Lord Liverpool wrote to General 
Layard, governor of Curacoa, " that his Britannic majesty 
had strong reasons for hoping that the inhabitants of Car- 
accas would acknowledge the authority of the regency of 
Spain." The English attempted mediation between Spain 
and Colombia in hostility to France, and Colombia invited 
the sympathy and assistance of the United States. The 
British influence was finally weighed in Colombia in opposi- 
tion to impossible Spain. 

The revolutions in the United States and France in the 
last quarter of the eighteenth century aroused the people 
of all enlightened nations, and deepened the conflict for 
supremacy on the seas between England, France and Spain. 
The influence of her vast American possessions aggrandized 
Spain, but was not wholesome, and her enormous colonial 
fabric was easily shaken, but the several parts were 
strangely moved to inconsistency by their attachment to the 
dynasty of Spain and pride in the grandeur of her name, still 
fascinating, though declining, England closely estimated 
the lessons she received in the loss of her colonies, and 
remembered that in the later days of the Continental con- 
flict, both France and Spain were against the British, the 
French and Spaniards when Rodney won his decisive victory 
being about to unite to attempt the conquest of Jamaica. 

The French Revolution followed closely upon that in the 
United States. For a time the whole world seemed against 
the French who had taken the liberty of throwing off the 
monarchical system, the United States being, for the time, 
the only country in diplomatic relations with the French 
Republic. Suddenly there was a startling apparition, that 



HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF IN CUBA. 



329 



of Napoleon. Mr. Pitt had, in remembrance of the shifty 
course of Spain, encouraged the first manifestations of dis- 
satisfaction among- the Spanisli colonists. The following 
proclamation from the British Governor of Trinidad defines 
the policy of his government. 

" By virtue of an official paper, which I, the governor of this island of Trini- 
dad, have received from the right honorable Henry Dundas, minister of his 
Britannic majesty for foreign affairs, dated 7th April, 1797, which I here pub- 
lish in obedience to orders, and for the use which your Excellencies may draw 
from its publication, in order that you may communicate its tenor, which is 
literally as follows: 'The object which at present 1 desire most particularly to 
recommend to your attention is the means which might best be adapted to lib- 
erate the people of the continent near the island of Trinidad, from the oppres- 
sive and tyrannic system which supports, with so much rigor, the monopoly of 
commerce, under the title of exclusive registers, which the government licenses 
demand ; also to draw the greatest advantages possible, and which the local 
situation of the island presents, by opening a direct and free communication 
with the other parts of the world without prejudice to the commerce of the 
British nation. In order to fulfill this intention with greater facility, it will be 
prudent for your Excellency to animate the inhabitants of Trinidad in keeping 
up the communication which they had with those of Terra Firma, previous 
to the reduction of that island ; under the assurance that they will find there 
an entrepot, or general magazine of every sort of goods whatever. To this 
end his Britannic majesty has determined, in council, to grant freedom to the 
ports of Trinidad, with a direct trade to Great Britain. 

" ' With regard to the hopes you entertain of raising the spirits of those per- 
sons, with whom you are in correspondence, toward encouraging the inhabitants 
to resist tJie oppre'^sive authority of their government, I have little more to say, 
than that they may be certain that, whenever they are in that disposition, they 
may receive, at your hands, all the succors to be expected from his Britannic 
Majesty be it with forces, or with arms and atjwiunition, to any extent; with 
the assurance that the views of his Britannic Majesty go no further than to 
secure to them their independence, without pretetiding to aiiy sovereignty over 
their country, nor even to ijiterfere with the privileges of the people, nor in their 
political, civil, or religious rights.' 

"Thomas Picton, &c., &c. 

''Puerto de Espana, 26th June, 1797.' " 

Niles, Historian of South America and Mexico, says : 

" It had long been a favorite project of Mr. Pitt to aid the emancipation of 
South America, and to open a trade with that country. He had frequent con- 



330 HISTOR V REPEA TS ITSELF IN CUBA. 

ferences with the ex-Jesuit, Juan Pablo Viscardi Gusman, a native of Peru, and 
an enthusiast in favor of the independence of America, who represented the 
country to be impatient under the Spanish yoke, and ripe for revolt. He also 
published in London an appeal to his countrymen, using all the powers of his 
eloquence in attempting to bring them to a sense of their degraded condition. 
The British ministry encouraged General Miranda in his designs to revolutionize 
Venezuela, and aided the premature expedition which he fitted out in 1801 ; and 
furnished the funds for that which he afterward fitted out from the United States 
in 1806, though it was done without the assistance or sanction of Congress. 
This expedition failed without accomplishing anything, and a number of young 
men from the United States, falling into the hands of the Spaniards, became 
victims of their own credulity, and the cruelty of tyrannical power. It is said, 
that during President Adams' administration, the British ministry made pro- 
posals to our government to assist in the emancipation of the Spanish colonies, 
which did not meet a favorable reception. 

"The failure of Miranda's expedition did not discourage the British govern- 
ment; for in 1806 Spain then being in alliance with France in the war which 
prevailed in Europe, they fitted out a squadron under Sir Home Popham, which 
entered the La Plata on the 25th of June, and anchored about twelve miles 
below Buenos Ay res, where the troops disembarked without opposition. 

" The inhabitants, and the Viceroy Soleimente, were filled with consternation. 
After experiencing a feeble opposition at Rio Chueto, three miles from the city, 
General Beresford entered the capital and took possession of the citadel. Don 
J. M. Pueyredon, afterward dictator, at the head of a company of hussars, was 
the only officer who did anything to oppose the advance of the English. The 
Spaniards, on learning the small number ot their enemies, determined to expel 
them. The viceroy had escaped to Montevideo, and Liniers, a French emi- 
grant, but an officer in the Spanish service, passed over to the eastern shore of 
the river, exciting the people to arms. The viceray collected one thousand 
regulars, which he joined with those of Liniers, to whom the command of the 
united force was given. With these troops, Liniers immmediately recrossed the 
river, when the inhabitants flocking around his standard, soon enabled him to 
attack the British with great effect, compelling them, after they had sustained 
a heavy loss, to surrender on the 12th of Augusv, 1806. Soon after this event 
reinforcements arrived from the Cape of Good Hope, which enabled Sir Home 
Popham to reduce Montevideo by storm. 

"This expedition, as appeared from the trial of Sir Home Popham, was not 
expressly authorized by the British ministry, but was so far from being disap- 
proved of by them, that it was followed up by a bold and extensive plan of 
conquest. Two squadrons, each with a large body of troops, one commanded by 
General Whitlock, the other by General Crawford, were fitted out for the capture 
of Buenos Ayres; after accomplishing this, Crawford had received orders to 
proceed around Cape Horn and capture Valparaiso; and, for the more effectu- 
ally securing their conquest, to establish military posts across the continent, 



HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF IN CUBA. 331 

from Buenos Ayres to Valparaiso. The object of the ministry was entirely 
changed since 1797 ; now it was not to aid the inhabitants in establishing their 
independence, but to subjugate the country." 

In this enterprise the British were defeated with great 
loss, the native Americans not rising as expected to throw 
off the Spanish yoke. The English had not made material 
progress in any quarter to upset the Spanish government 
in American colonies, when the scene was changed by the 
subjugation of Spain by Bonaparte. The native American- 
Spanish rivaled the Spaniards of the peninsula in their 
hatred of the French, and they preferred with great passion 
the Spanish King Ferdinand, to Joseph Bonaparte. Niles 
writing of Mexico, in 1838, says: 

" All the officers of government being sent from Spain, the inhabitants could 
view them in no other light than as their oppressors, and as having been im- 
ported for that express purpose. The possession of power, and the favor of the 
government, rendered the Europeans haughty and insolent, as is always the 
case with a privileged class, and this tended still more to exasperate the feelings 
of the Creoles. Hence the long, bitter and sanguinary war of the late revolution. 

" If there ever was a people in a state of political bondage, of oppressive 
and degrading servitude, it was the Spanish colonists. Fortunately for them, 
the cause of liberty, and the honor of America, circumstances favored their 
emancipadon, and they are now free. The struggle has been long, ardu- 
ous and bloody, characterized by a spirit of bitterness and animosity, which 
spread desolation over the fairest portions of America, and in some districts 
almost swept away the entire population. The independence and liberty of 
Spanish-America has been dearly purchased ; it has been bought with the best 
blood of the country, and this has flowed freely. In Mexico, after a destructive 
war for twelve years, the royal government was finally overthrown. But this 
only established a new and ephemeral tyranny, in the person of Iturbide, who 
had been the instrument of crushing the Spanish despotism. Whilst he was 
at the head of affairs the government acquired no stability.'' 

It is remarkable how close the correspondence is between 
the elements of the war in Mexico that gave to that country 
her freedom, and those that appear in the long agony of the 
Cuban conflict. This from the Mexican historian reads 
like a fresh chapter of Cuban history : 



332 HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF IN CUBA. 

" The contest assumed a character peculiarly savage and horrible ; the war 
was not only a war of death, but of desolation. Vengeance and destruction 
seem to have filled the minds of the royal chiefs, who were as weak as they 
were destitute of every sentiment of justice or humanity, in supposing that 
'examples of terror,' and destruction, would restore tranquillity to a distracted 
country. After the capture of Zitaquaro, Calleja published a decree, depriving 
the Indians, of that department, of their property and immunities, declaring the 
property of all Mexicans, who had taken any part in the insurrection, or who 
fled from the city on the entry of the royal troops, to be forfeited ; transferring 
the capital of the department to Marabatio, and ordering the town of Zitaquaro 
razed to the ground, allowing the inhabitants six days only to leave it, with 
their movables, which they were permitted to take ' as proof of mercy ; ' and 
threatening the same destruction against any town which should harbor 
the members of the junta. The scene of horror and distress which this 
decree, conceived in the true spirit of Vandalism, produced, surpassed the 
power of imagination.'' 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Mexico's wars of independence. 

The Imperial Tragedies in Mexican History — The Philosophy of Rebellion 
against Spain, and the Dominant Nature of Spaniards and Hatred of 
Native Americans — The Interference of Napoleon in Spain, and the 
Conflict of Jurisdiction of Juntas, and How the Republic of Mexico 
Emerged from Chaos, 

There is in Nile's " History of Mexico," a passage regard- 
ing the final expulsion of the Spanish flag from Mexico, that 
is remarkable. It follows the account of the execution of 
Iturbide, and finds a striking parallel in a recent situation. 

Mexico, as well as the other independent States, at one 
period felt some apprehension that the allied powers in 
Europe, which interfered in the internal concerns of Spain, 
would extend their kind offices to her possessions on this 
side of the Atlantic ; but the disposition manifested by 
Great Britain has removed such apprehensions, as her min- 
isters have declared that England would not agree to any 
cession Spain might make of the States which were de facto 
released from her dominion. 

The tragedy of Iturbide is told in the terms following : 
A conspiracy in the Mexican capital was discovered, and 
twenty persons implicated were arrested, among whom 
were several general officers, a number of colonels, and 
some citizens of distinction. The papers of the conspira- 
tors were headed, " God, Independence and the Hero of 
Iguala ; " it is said that a woman acted as secretary. The 
criminals were brought to trial before a council of war and 
two of them sentenced to death, and the rest to perpetual 

333 



334 MEXICO'S U^ARS OF INDEPENDENCE. 

banishment. After this premature explosion of the con- 
spiracy, the infatuated Iturbide landed at Soto la Marina in 
disguise, on the 14th of July, 1824. He came in an Eng- 
lish brig with Charles de Beneski, a foreigner, who pre- 
tended that his object was to treat with the Mexican gov- 
ernment concerning a plan of colonization, and that he had 
powers for that purpose from three Irish capitalists of Lon- 
don. Beneski presented himself to General Garza, military 
commandant, who inquired concerning Iturbide, and was 
informed by Beneski, that he left him at London, residing 
quietly with his family. Iturbide, being disguised, passed 
himself as the companion of Beneski, who was permitted 
to go into the country, and thus attempted to advance into 
the interior. On the i6th. General Garza was informed by 
an officer who commanded a detachment of troops, that he 
had seen Beneski, with another person in disguise, proceed- 
ing into the interior, which excited his suspicion. General 
Garza at once went in pursuit with some troops and over- 
taking them at Arrogas, he immediately recognized in 
the disguised person, Don Augustin Iturbide, arrested him 
and conveyed him under a strong guard to Soto la Marina. 
General Garza communicated the arrest of Iturbide to the 
provincial congress of the State of Tamaulipas, then in ses- 
sion at Padilla, which resolved that the decree of the gen- 
eral congress of the 28th of April, 1824, be carried into 
immediate effect, and ordered the minister of state to cause 
Iturbide to be executed without delay. Accordingly, he 
was shot in the town of Padilla. Thus terminated the 
career of Don Augustin Iturbide, the first, and it is hoped, 
the last usurper of sovereign power in America. This 
event relieved the republic of one source of apprehen- 
sion, and one cause of the vacillation of public opinion ; by 
annihilating forever the hopes and designs of the partisans 



MEXICO'S WARS OF INDEPENDENCE, 335 

of a military usurper. It tended to concentrate public 
opinion in favor of the political system which had been 
adopted, and to give stability and energy to the government. 

Since this period public tranquillity has not been dis- 
turbed in Mexico by civil commotions ; the government 
has been administered with success, and has enjoyed the 
increasing confidence of all classes of the population. 

The Spaniards still retained possession of the strong 
fortress of St. Juan de Uloa, which, commanding the en- 
trance into the port of Vera Cruz, greatly deranged the 
Mexican commerce, by exactions from all vessels entering 
the harbor. This was the more vexatious, in consequence 
of there being no seaport to which the trade of Vera Cruz 
could be transferred. The annoyance which the castle oc- 
casioned to the commerce of the country, united with the 
desire to reduce the last stronghold of Spanish power in 
Mexico, rendered the government and the nation anxious 
to accelerate an event which it was evident could not long 
be delayed. The superiority of the Mexican navy to that 
of the Spanish prevented the governor of the castle, Cop- 
pinger. from receiving any reinforcements, or even supplies 
from abroad, whilst the garrison continually wasted away 
by disease and hardships, till they at last became reduced 
to a handful of men. Still the governor obstinately re- 
fused to capitulate. At length, however, the time arrived 
when he could hold out no longer, and accordingly, on the 
1 8th of November, 1821, the castle surrendered, to the 
great joy of all Vera Cruz and Mexico. The garrison, 
(except the sick who were conveyed to Vera Cruz) were, 
with the governor, sent to Havana. 

Mexico has probably received less aid from foreigners 
than most of the other new republics ; some enterprises 
have been undertaken from the United States against the 



336 MEXICO'S WARS OF INDEPENDENCE. 

Texas country, but these have had no influence on the 
great contest, and some individuals from the United States 
and the British isles have engaged in the Mexican service ; 
but she has had no foreign succor of any importance ; the 
Mexican patriots have maintained the long and sanguinary 
strug-o-le alone, without allies and without assistance, and 
by their own valor and perseverance, have overcome both 
foreign and domestic tyranny. 

The patriots of Mexico, as well as those of other parts of 
America, formerly Spanish, made an early attempt to se- 
cure the countenance, if not the assistance, of the United 
States. In 1811, Don B. Gutierrez was sent by the patriots 
of Mexico as their agent or commissioner to Washington, 
where he condnued until nearly the close of the following 
year, at which time he joined Toledo in an expedition 
against the eastern internal provinces. In 18 16 the Mexi- 
can Congress sent Don Herrera to the United States. 
But these missions were productive of no other advantage 
than the promotion, in the breasts of our citizens of feelings 
of friendship and sympathy for a people who were strug- 
gling for the same rights, the attainment of which a few 
years since had cost the United States so much blood and 
treasure. Yet for our government to have assisted the 
Spanish colonies would have been violating the fundamental 
principles of the Constitution, and the genius of our foreign 
policy. Hence it was that Congress, in 18 17, passed an 
act for the more effectually preserving the neutrality of the 
United States, which authorized the President to prevent 
the sale of vessels of war by the citizens of the United 
States to the subjects of any foreign power, and prohibited 
the exportation of arms or ammunition, except bonds were 
given as security against their being conveyed to either of 
the belligerent parties. In pursuance of this policy, an 



MEXICO'S WARS OF INDEPENDENCE. 337 

expedition, which was preparing at New Orleans in 181 5, 
and destined against the north-eastern provinces of Mexico, 
was stopped by a proclamation of the President. 

Near the close of the year 18 18, the President appointed 
commissioners to visit some of the South American States, 
which claimed to be independent, and in 1822 Congress 
formally acknowledged the independence of Mexico and 
the other republics of the South. 

The tribute to Mexico for her self-sustaining power in 
winning her freedom and capacity for retaining it, is as 
well put, as deserved. The country was greatly im- 
poverished. 

The Mexican patriots received little or no assistance 
from abroad, except in funds, and not that until the contest 
was decided. The war had destroyed the machinery, and 
stopped the operation of the mines, destroyed the govern- 
ment magazines of tobacco, and essentially impaired every 
branch of revenue, whilst at the same time it had aug- 
mented in a greater ratio the expenses of the government. 
Whilst the colonial authority existed, the patriots secured 
the public property for their own use, and destroyed what 
they could not thus appropriate ; both parties had recourse 
to forced loans. These causes, together with the devasta- 
tion of a civil war, and the suspension of industry, had so 
impoverished the country that the revenue was almost 
entirely annihilated, and the government which succeeded 
the overthrow of Iturbide was placed under the most dis- 
tressing embarrassments. 

The end of imperial illusions about Mexico did not 
terminate with the execution of Iturbide. The tragedy 
of Maximilian was one of the dramas in real life that 
surpass historic and romantic invention. This would never 
have occurred if the United States had not been absorbed 



338 MEXICO'S WARS OF INDEPENDENCE. 

In her war of states and sections. The Emperor Napoleon 
III. thouo-ht the time had come to re-estabhsh imperiahsm 
in North America. 

There were thousands of instances of heroism in the 
contest of Mexico for her freedom and independence. The 
confusion of authority both in Spain and Mexico can only 
be accounted for by the disorganization of Spain following 
the conquests and usurpations of Napoleon I. and the 
rival juntas that disputed possession with each other, and 
Joseph Bonaparte made by his masterful brother King of 
Spain. 

The Maximilian episode by Napoleon III. and his effort 
to influence the choice of a king in Spain, during the in- 
trigues that saw the elevation of an Italian prince to that 
dignity, and France, crushed by Germany in a quarrel 
beginning in French resentment at the proposal of a Ger- 
man prince as a candidate, are reminders of the first 
Napoleon's Spanish mistakes. The American colonies of 
Spain were not disposed to take advantage of the humilia- 
tion of the mother country by France, to become independ- 
ent, for they hated the French for the deeds of Napoleon, 
but the Spanish juntas had all the vices of the deposed 
monarchy they were supposed to represent, and made war 
with vindictiveness upon the colonial people whose juntas 
were sensitive as to their authority, but many of them ani- 
mated by a sentiment of loyalty to the dynasty superseded 
by French force of arms. Niles, the historian, says : 

" A general revolt of the inhabitants against the authority 
of the Bonapartes occurred in the peninsula. Intelligence 
of this reached Mexico on the 29th of July, 1808. It im- 
mediately raised the feelings of the people into the highest 
enthusiasm. In Spain, juntas were established in the dif- 
ferent provinces, for their government and security. The 



MEXICO'S WARS OF INDEPENDENCE. 339 

junta at Seville styled itself the supreme junta of Spain 
and the Indies; several other of the provincial juntas claimed 
the like superiority, which led to dissensions in the penin- 
sula, and distracted the Americans, so that they knew not 
which to acknowledge, as entided to their allegiance. 
Before the enthusiam had subsided in Mexico, the deputies 
sent by the junta of Seville arrived in America, to demand 
the sovereignty of the country, and to induce the colonies 
to yield obedience to the junta, the deputies represented 
that its authority was submitted to, throughout the whole 
of Spain. 

" Such was the hostility of the people against the French, 
and their loyalty and zeal toward their sovereign, that they 
seemed ready to acknowledge the authority of any tribunal 
in Spain, although self-created, which claimed their alle- 
giance in the name of their king." 

But there were other juntas and a regency, and the greater 
the conflict of jurisdicdon the wilder the passions excited. 
There was a muddle of masters. One document throws a 
great deal of light upon the conditions in Mexico. The 
municipality of Mexico, on the 5th of August, 1808, pre- 
sented a memorial to Iturrigaray, the viceroy, for assem- 
bling of a junta, from which we make an extract: 

"Juntas of the government, and respectable bodies of 
the cities and kingdoms, are no more than in exact con- 
formity to the law, which ordains that all arduous cases 
shall be considered of, in general assemblies. As in exist- 
ing circumstances, in consequence of the seizure of the 
king, the sovereignty is vested in the nation, In order. that 
its Interests may be consulted, the united authorities, 
together with the municipalities, which are the heads of the 
people, do exactly the same as would the monarch himself 
for the general welfare. 



340 MEXICO'S WARS OF INDEPENDENCE. 

" Mexico has in view the same principles that influenced 
Seville, Valencia, and the other cities of Spain, and she is 
empowered, in like manner as the above two faithful capi- 
tals, to do what she conceives is advisable in such urgent 
circumstances, 

"These examples point out what ought to be done — to 
organize a governing junta, composed of the royal audien- 
cia, the archbishop, municipality, and deputies from the tri- 
bunals, ecclesiastical and secular bodies, the nobility, and 
principal citizens, as well as the military. This junta shall 
deliberate on the most weighty subjects that concern us, 
which shall be determined conformably to our interests. 

" The junta is necessary ; for, although we are at present 
free from the urgent danger which threatened us on the 
side of France, we, nevertheless, ought not to neglect our 
means of defence, till we receive such positive advices, as 
may place us perfectly at ease. It is at the same time 
necessary to satisfy the wishes of the people, by restoring 
to them those means they formerly had of appeal to the 
Council of the Indies, or to the person of the king ; and, 
finally, many amendments ought to be made in the nomina- 
tion to secular and ecclesiastical dignities. These are the 
only means, in consequence of the absence of the monarch, 
by which the kingdom, being thus united, may overcome 
all its difficulties. 

"This union of authorities is likewise necessary, as being 
the best means to produce unanimity in the minds of the 
people, and of preventing the fatal consequences which 
must arise throughout the country from disunion. Every 
one will then be happy ; their patriotism and wishes will be 
united by love, enthusiasm, and a sense of the public good. 

" The city, consequently, thinks that the time has arrived 
for adopting the same means as have been carried into 



MEXICO'S WARS OF INDEPENDENCE. 341 

effect in Spain, The junta which your excellency is to form, 
for the present, of the authorities and respectable bodies 
above-mentioned, when the representatives of the kingdom 
are assembled, will carefully examine its interests, etc. 

" But the two fundamental points on which the junta is 
to act, ought not to be forgotten. The first is, that the 
authorities retain the full extent of their power, in the same 
manner as if the derangement we deplore in the monarchy 
had not taken place ; that is, that your excellency shall 
still hold the same power which the laws grant, and that 
the same be observed with respect to the other tribunals. 
The second is, that in order to fill up the immense void 
which exists between the authority of your excellency and 
the sovereign, the proposed junta is to be had recourse to." 

The Viceroy was inclined to submit, but the Spaniards 
conspired against him, bribed the officers of the guard, 
captured him in his palace and imprisoned him in a nun- 
nery, setting up a junta of their own, and Niles says : 

" The violent proceedings in Mexico were not only ap- 
proved by the central junta, which received the intelligence 
while in session at Seville, but the junta manifested great 
joy that the Viceroy, who had favored the wishes of the 
Creoles, had been deposed and imprisoned, without consid- 
ering the danger of the example, or the evidence it afforded 
of the feebleness of all sentiments of subordination. These 
high-handed measures of the European faction greatly ex- 
asperated the Creoles against the Spaniards in Mexico, and 
tended to produce disaffection toward the rulers of Spain. 
The authority of the central junta, although illegal (as the 
laws required that in case of a suspension of the royal 
functions, the government should be vested in a regency)^ 
was, nevertheless, submitted to by the colonists, and large 
sums of money remitted from America to Spain, which 



342 MEXICO'S WARS OF INDEPENDENCE. 

enabled the Spaniards to carry on the war against the 
French." 

Of the sanguinary scenes of strife in the evolution of 
Mexico, a few examples will serve for the whole history. 
The Spanish Cortes granted in iSioan amnesty promising 
oblivion of all that took place in the revolution, but the 
Spanish Americans disregarded it totally, and used the 
promise as a trap. The Viceroy had to get the Church to 
endorse his proclamations, and the cabildo ecclesiastico, in 
a pastoral charge addressed to the clergy, on the 17th of 
May, 1 81 2, says: " His excellency the Viceroy, the worthy 
and legitimate representative of our Catholic and most 
Christian king, Ferdinand VII, , has had the unparalleled 
goodness, not only to authorize us to be the guarantees 
and trustees of the indulto, or general pardon, granted to 
the insurgents, but also to permit us to grant to you like- 
wise the power, reverend brethren, as by these presents we 
do, to offer, promise, and assure, in the name of the Holy 
Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,*and in the name of 
the Virgin of Guadaloupe, protectress of this kingdom, and 
in the name of the Christian and Catholic king, Ferdinand 
VII., and of his Viceroy in these kingdoms, that a general 
pardon shall be duly granted to all those who, repenting 
themselves of their past faults, are now willing to lay down 
their arms." Notwithstanding this solemnity, the war con- 
tinued, and the patriots repeatedly defeated the royalists. 
The revolution gaining ground, the patriot Rayon estab- 
lished, August, 18 12, a junta for the government of the 
country, consisting of himself, Doctor Berdusco, and Don 
J. M. Liceaga, which nominally, at least, acknowledged the 
authority of Ferdinand, and published their acts in his 
name, Calleja, the moment he received intelligence of the 
creation of this junta, issued a proclamation from his head- 




HAVANA. — Public Square and Market Place.— The Spanish Volunteers. 





V 


(^ 


^^m i^^'^j^ 


f^ : 


^M i_Mff 


E?flJ 




r 




rl 


^^^^^^u^ II V 


M 



HAVANA. — Where Miss Cisneros Was Imprisoned. — Graves of the Sailors of the MaineJ 
Governor-General's Country Palace. — Where Consul-General Lee Ruled. ' 



MEXICO'S WARS OF INDEPENDENCE. 345 

quarters at Guanaxuato, offering ten thousand dollars for 
each of the heads of the junta, and the Viceroy, greatly 
alarmed at this measure of Rayon, regarding it as a har- 
binger of a general rising of the people, ordered Calleja 
to make an immediate attack upon the insurgents at Zita- 
quaro. Calleja, after a hard fight, carried the town, and 
remarked in his official report : " My stay here will be as 
short as possible, and before my departure I will erase 
every vestige of the town from the face of the earth, that I 
may, by this means, punish the criminal instigators of so 
barbarous, impolitic, and destructive an insurrection, and 
give an example of terror to those who might otherwise be 
willing to support it." 

Presently this champion of order struck another rebel 
town, Quaulta, and March 15, 181 2, wrote to a friend: 

" We will precipitate this town and its inhabitants into 
the very centre of hell, whatever exertions or fatigue it 
may cost us. The enthusiasm of these insurgents is unpar- 
alleled. Morelos, with a prophetic countenance, gives his 
orders, and, whatever they may be, they are always punc- 
tually executed. We continually hear the inhabitants swear 
that they will be buried under the ruins rather than deliver 
up the town. They dance around the bombs as they fall, 
to prove they are fearless of danger." 

The Spaniards' passion to rule for their own purposes 
was unappeasable save by absolute authority, in the name 
of some ruler or governing body beyond the Atlantic, and 
implacable in their relentless resolution that the natives in 
a colony should not govern it, but be perpetually an inferior 
and subordinate class. It was from this chaos that the 
Republic of Mexico at last emerged, and after many trials 
and vicissitudes, taught in hardship, the true divinity of 
popular sovereignty grew in strength and power. 



CHAPTKR XXIil. 

SPANISH DESPOTISM IN CUBA. 

The Sorrowful History of Cuba — The Spanish Colonial System was Founded 
in Personal Despotism — The Wrongs of the Cubans — The Justice and 
Triumph of their Cause and the Causes Which Led up to the War 
Between the United States and Spain. 

The sorrows of Cuba, as a colony of Spain, varied from 
those of other possessions of "the Peninsula" in being 
more protracted and developing more desperate and san- 
guinary differences. There is a curse upon the Spanish 
colonial system, and it was in the rapacious selfishness and 
remorseless ambition to absorb the earnings of others, that 
had been developed through centuries of indulgence. The 
fault seemed to be primal. It began in the bargain between 
Columbus and Ferdinand and Isabella. It will be remem- 
bered that Columbus drove a hard bargain with their ma- 
jesties. He had a high estimation of the value of his goods. 
The King and Queen were to be sovereigns in particular 
over the discoveries of Columbus, and he was to be an 
Admiral and have a vast scope of authority. While he was 
greedy he was also benevolent, and wanted to aid the cru- 
saders to rescue the Holy Sepulchre. The Spanish nation 
was left out. The King and Queen got America for a 
personal possession and Columbus was the principal per- 
sonage, and was to manage the hemisphere, or whatever it 
was, for their Majesties. The Viceroys and Captain-Gener- 
als were all disposed to be but a little lower than mon 
archical angels, and there was wild jealousy at once toward 
Columbus, and conflicts of territorial jurisdiction and official 
dignity. Neither the people of Spain, nor of the colonies 
346 



SPANISH DESPOTISM IN CUBA. 347 

had any rights, the Spanish sovereigns cared to respect, and 
Columbus soon became a sufferer from the excess of his 
authority, and the energy of the assertion of his under- 
standing of his achievements. It would have required 
superhuman gifts to have enabled him to disentangle himself 
from the embarrassments heaped upon him by his prerocra- 
tives. He died in poverty, the first and most illustrious 
victim of the Spanish system of governing the colonies that 
he gave Spain. Soon the amiable savages who were en- 
slaved and driven to despair by unaccustomed labors and 
cruelties, perished. It seemed perfectly natural for the 
Spaniards to enslave these people. There was neither 
scruple nor mercy. Cuba was not highly valued by its 
discoverers, with the exception of Columbus, because it 
was not rich in gold, and so the island suffered centuries 
of comparative neglect. It had a wonderful soil, and wealth 
in mines and forests, and the delightful harbor of Havana, 
which became the centre and rallying place for the trade 
and travel between Spain and central and southern America. 

The original Cubans were almost annihilated in their 
helpless innocence, but the Spaniards were never able to 
take from the beautiful island its original name, and we 
may believe this was a sign and prophecy of coming indepen- 
dence. Columbus tried, on the island, four Spanish names 
in vain. He was enraptured with the beauty of Cuba and 
wrote of it in highly poetic style. The brilliancy of the 
fishes and the birds, the woods and waters, the mountains 
and the rivers, the flowers and the fruits, the clouds of 
parrots that darkened the sun, the bird songs, sweet as 
those of angels, inspired the pen of the old navigator, whose 
letters to his sovereign patrons were poems. 

The expeditions of Cortez, Pizarro, De Soto and others 
started from Havana, and there the treasure ships gath- 



_^8 SPANISH DESPOTISM IN CUBA. 

ered to be convoyed to Spain, but though the city flour- 
ished, the growth of the island in wealth and population was 
not rapid. There was thoroughly established, however, 
the system of governing Cuba, not with a thought of the 
rights of the people, but for those who belonged on the 
other side of the Atlantic and claimed divine rights of 
monopoly. Cuba became a place of spoils to Spain, and 
while, for a time, shipbuilding was extensively carried on at 
Havana, that was discontinued, though there was an ample 
supply of incomparable timber. The land of Cuba is the 
most fertile known, and in spite of negligence and injustice, 
there was, in the indigo sky and the red and black soil, 
wealth the increase of which could not be altogether escaped. 
The prosperity of the French islands, which once far ex- 
ceeded Cuba in proportion of area, was destroyed by the 
barbarian revolutionists, and the fugitives transferred coffee 
culture and other industries from Hayti to Cuba, and she 
was not governed for herself, but for the Peninsula, under 
an absolutism that amounted to perpetual martial law. The 
Captain-Generals had the powers of the commanders of 
besieged cities, and the public offices were filled with swarms 
of Spaniards who harvested the public service and hastened 
home, making room for others with like principles and 
appetites. The natives of the island were the people who 
had no rights, and found the only way of conciliating the 
tyranny from which they suffered was special subserviency 
in devotion to Spain. Generation after generation the 
grievances of the islanders accumulated, and with them 
their animosity increased and became exasperation. 

With all the suffering the people of Cuba, however, 
remained loyal to the Mother Country during the struggles 
for liberty in Mexico and South America, and when the 
Spaniards were driven from their other American posses- 



SPANISH DESPOTISM IN CUBA. 349 

sions, the Royalists took refuge in Cuba, where they 
assisted the Spanish government in preventing that island 
from taking the same course as her sister colonies in 
America. 

It was as though to avenge themselves for the many dis- 
asters in Central and South America that the Spanish roy- 
alists in Cuba were determined to crush out every thought 
of liberty or independence on the part of the oppressed, 
and it did not take many years before clouds of discontent 
were decidedly visible. The wave of revolution became 
stronger and stronger, and in each new outbreak the patri- 
ots were more numerous. No sooner had peace been 
declared after each revolution, than plans were considered 
for another revolt. During the revolution of 1869-1878, 
a boy was put in chains and kept at hard labor for alleged 
seditious writings. Later he was sent to Spain, where he 
succeeded in escaping shortly afterward. Continuing his 
studies he became a man of high intellectual attainments, 
and it was he, Jose Marti, who, at the end of February, 
1895, inaugurated the revolution which was the primary 
cause of our going to war with Spain. Humanity and our 
geographical position demanded that we should interfere 
in a cause that has been a blot on history for almost a cen- 
tury. 

There has been no change in the laws and decrees 
through which the crown of Spain has governed its posses- 
sions in Cuba through Captain-generals substantially under 
martial law. It has been accepted as a fact, applicable to 
all the captain-generals, that it made very litde difference 
to the Cubans what manner of men they were. One cap- 
tain-general was about the same as another. General 
Mardnez Campos failed because of his humanity, and Gen- 
eral Weyler failed on account of his inhumanity, according 



350 SPANISH DESPOTISM IN CUBA. 

to the current stories. The difference was not so great, 
between the one policy and the other, to change the con- 
victions of interested people whose education was through 
experience. Tliere was something, however, in the orders 
and the overtures made by Captain-General Blanco that 
made an impression, he was earnest in his desire to change 
the methods of the Spaniards in making war, from those 
of barbarism, to such as might be classed as belonging to 
civilization. There were phases indicative of sincerity in 
aspirations for the pacification of the island — at least there 
was something beside the accustomed revengefulness. 
General Blanco seemed to have an idea greatly enlarged 
upon the reality about the numbers and the influence of 
the autonomists. He had a solicitude beyond the common 
to enter into negotiations with the insurgents ; to ascertain 
upon what terms, other than those of independence, the 
representative men of Cuba, in the struggle for liberty, 
would consent to put aside their arms. He was met with 
a spirit of desperate resistance. In some cases the reward 
of the peacemakers was assassination. There was a weak- 
ness in the policy of General Blanco, of which he must 
have been fully cognizant. It was that, according to the 
usual presentation of the cause of autonomy, Cuba would 
have to be responsible for the Spanish debt incurred in 
their struggles to subjugate the island. Clearly there was 
no possibility of pacification upon such a basis, for auton- 
omy would have been but another word for servitude, and 
the condition of Cuba more hopeless than it ever had been. 
Among the Madrid rumors cabled to this country and 
largely circulated, was one to the effect that General Blanco 
was empowered and desired to go further in attempting to 
win the Cubans to accept conditions that would end the 
war by concessions, such as had never been contemplated 



SPANISH DESPOTISM IN CUBA. 



351 



by any Spanish government, and never were proposed to 
those in charge of what may be termed the civil adminis- 
tration of the insurrection. It was said that rather than go 
on with the war, as there was nothing encouraging to the 
Spaniards in their mihtary operations, and all were agreed, 
as De Lome said, in his letter that caused his departure 
from diplomatic life, the first necessity of pacification upon 
any terms that could be considered by Spain, was " military 
success " — in the absence of this, the alternative seemed to 
be, that Spain, to avoid the utter exhaustion of her re- 
sources, would consent to the actual independence of the 
Cubans, their complete possession of the government of 
the island, in case there was reserved for the Crown of 
Spain a shadowy sovereignty somewhat like that the Sultan, 
as a matter of ceremony, holds over some of the Grecian 
islands, where he exercises no authority. 

It was assumed that it would be a part of this scheme 
that the Spanish flag should still be used, and that there 
might be a small indemnity paid Spain, perhaps two million 
dollars a year — about as much of the revenues of the 
island in a normal condition as during recent administra- 
tions (between the ten years' war and the present) were 
expended upon the island, while twenty-five millions of dol- 
lars were applied to the army and navy of Spain, the 
payment of war bonds, and in other ways for purposes 
beneficial to the peninsula alone. If there was anything 
in this plan of pacification, it did not take form before the 
people. It seemed to be so unreasonable as to be almost, 
if not altogether, unanimously rejected by the belligerents 
on both sides. 

The Cuban volunteers, who were the most radical and 
violent of the Spaniards, escaping military duty in Spain 
by serving in the militia of Cuban cities,- and accepting all 



252 SPANISH DESPOTISM IN CUBA. 

the good situations, disliked, intensely, all those things in 
the policy of General Blanco that were approved by the 
humanitarians, holding that the better way to heal the 
wounds of civil war was by processes, not remote from 
those known in Christendom, as associated with civiliza- 
tion. There was rioting in Havana; volunteers were out; 
seven thousand regular Spanish troops were required to 
restore order. The American citizens in Havana were 
alarmed, and desired the presence of a United States man- 
of-war. Consul-General Lee recommended that one of our 
ships should be sent in a friendly capacity to Havana. 

The " Maine " was despatched, and, after a three weeks' 
stay, blown up from the outside. There has never, in history, 
been recorded a more dastardly, wholesale murder. The 
indignation of the American people was instantaneous and 
overwhelming. Captain Sigsbee, of the " Maine," however, 
recommended a suspension of public opinion, and the Pres- 
ident of the United States, upon the first testimony re- 
ceived, disbelieving in the possibility of the complicity of 
official Spaniards in this murderous business, gave out as 
his opinion that the loss of the " Maine " was due to an 
accident, and said he hoped that the Court of Inquiry into 
the loss of the " Maine " would establish the fact. The 
generous anticipation of the President was not justified. 
The finding of the court was that the " Maine " was blown 
up by enemies, and it was patent to all the people that a 
mine, capable of doing such frightful execution as appears 
in the wreck of our battleship, could not have been loaded 
and handled and fired without official complicity ; and this 
established fact revived the flame of wrath in the bosoms 
of Americans, and formed a forcible public feeling, which 
had steadily driven the nation into conditions threatening 
war. 



SPANISH DESPOTISM IN CUBA. t^^^ 

The passion that was excited in the country by the great 
assassination in Havana harbor had encountered no ob- 
stacle sufficient to stay its progress. The President's mes- 
sage, stating the finding of the Court of Inquiry, without 
recommendation, because the immediate identification of 
those concerned directly in the crime was not practicable, 
was held by a great proportion of the people to be insuffic- 
ient, though if its calm phrases are carefully studied it 
will be seen that they were very forcible in directing atten- 
tion to the vital points of the case and in condemning the 
guilty. There developed in the Congress and the coun- 
try a formidable impatience with all considerate proceed- 
ings, because they were necessarily identified with delays. 

The President did not seem to be sufficiently alert to satisfy 
the war spirit. It was expected of him that in speaking of 
the " Maine " he should compete with unofficial commenta- 
tors in the use of the language of denunciation. There 
was a loud and fierce demand that the President should be 
more decisive in declaring the outlines of his policy, and 
more active in pushing it to conclusions. After he had 
prepared a message to accompany the consular reports 
from Cuba, in placing those papers before Congress, it 
became evident that it would be the part of prudence that 
the authors of those reports, and American citizens de- 
tained in Cuba, should be given the opportunity to leave 
the island before the message and documents from the con- 
sular offices should receive publicity. This required a few 
days' delay ; whereupon there was a savage outburst of 
dissatisfaction, and the newspapers, capable of such things, 
were filled with odious suggestions. This sort of warfare, 
upon the administration, in connection with the fact that 
the country rapidly became informed of the great pro- 
priety and, indeed, necessity, of closing the consular Cuban 



2^4 SPANISH DESPOTISM IN CUBA. 

offices, and calling the officers home, in order to insure the 
personal safety of the Consul-General and all in the ser- 
vice of the United States in Cuba, or known there to be 
citizens of our country in sympathy with its aspirations. 
General Lee and his associates having landed on our soil, 
the President lost no time in laying his message and the 
reports before Congress. The message discussed with 
freedom and firmness, and in considerable detail, the rea- 
sons for our strained relations with Spain, threatening im- 
mediate war, defining the policy of the administration to 
be, not the recognition of Cuban belligerency nor of Cuban 
independence, but intervention by the United States with 
the determination of enforcing pacification, and affording 
the people of Cuba an opportunity to establish a stable 
government competent to deal with international relations. 
This message was received with objections by those radi- 
cally favoring the recognition of Cuban independence, and 
accepting, as the representatives of the Cuban cause, those 
in New York, and in secret places in Cuba, who have been 
conspicuously published and widely advertised as official 
representatives of the Insurrection. There was at once 
excited a bitter controversy between the champions of 
independence and those who favor direct intervention. 

It seemed probable, as the rainy season was at hand, and 
also the period for the malignancy of the yellow fever to 
develop, and as Spain had stopped the war so far as she was 
concerned, for an indefinite period, " suspending hostilities," 
which means that she gave up, for the time, the only 
method by which she has ever attempted seriously the con- 
quest of the rebellious island, and as it was known that 
each day would increase the superiority of the Sea Power 
of the United States over that of Spain, and as there was no 
contingency probable — surely none in sight — in which it 



SPANISH DESPOTISM IN CUBA. 355 

would be desirable that we should land troops in Cuba — 
taking all these things into intelligent estimation, it is plain 
that there was nothing to be gained by hasty action, and no 
reason why there should not be time taken for thorough 
preparation and considerate deliberation. There had ap- 
peared, in this connection, evidences of the remarkable 
European interest taken in the questions that had arisen 
between the United States and Spain, affecting their 
friendly relations, an anxious concern on the part of the 
" great powers " that peace should be preserved ; and this 
influence is believed to have been responsible for the action 
of Spain in abandoning, for an indefinite time, the use of 
force, an act, the logic of which, is confession of the loss 
of Cuba. 

But it appeared to be a necessity arising from personal 
and political incapacity to maintain a steadfast course of 
policy that the Spaniards vacillated into war without a ra- 
tional hope in America or a friend who would stand for her 
in Europe. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

OUR COUNTRY, SPAIN AND THE FUTURE. 

The Philosophy and Logic of Our War with Spain and the Good Fruit Thereof 
— Causes of Spanish Degeneracy — The United States the Only True 
Republic — Spanish Losses a Guarantee of Her Future — The Logic of 
Our Expansion — The Future of Cuba — The Living and Dead Nations — 
Our Growth in Peace and Glory in War — Annexation and Immigration 
— We had, for Forty Years, been Drifting into War with Spain about Cuba. 

The war between the United States and Spain, though it 
lasted but one hundred days, will profoundly influence both 
nations. We may believe it will be for the common good, 
and eventually better the relations of all nations, with each 
other, and make for the advancement of the influences that 
help humanity. No one doubted, though the war be fin- 
ished early or late, that it would end as it began, in American 
victory. This was inevitable, for we had superior strength 
and the will to use it. We have in the United States and 
Spain, the Quick and the Dead of systems of government. 
This does not necessarily mean that the people of Spain 
are effete ; that they are lacking in courage or energy or 
natural capacity, but that they have been misgoverned into 
a chronic condition of decadence that can be remedied only 
by the surgery of war, carrying with it a wholesome revo- 
lution. The Spanish Government is an antique despotism 
that has, in modern times, been tempered by violent changes 
— whirlpools that carried the turbid waters around old 
familiar circles — in which anarchy posed as republicanism. 
In contrast stands the United States, the only true repub- 
lic, and because it is based in the broadest sense upon the 
people, its government of the people is stronger than any 
356 



OUR COUNTRY, SPAIN AND THE FUTURE. 3^7 

shape of monarchy. The people of Spain have wasted 
their substance abroad, because they had not the vitaHty in 
their Peninsula to impart to continental colonies. Her 
ambition was great ; her opportunity the greatest the world 
has seen, but her potentiality was inadequate to the improve- 
ment of her fortune, and she has fallen. We have the 
better part of the continent. Our growth has been a story, 
not only of the rapid increase of those whose ancestors 
were among the foremost to come to our shores, but a 
record of annexation and immigration. The time has come 
when we shall not find the surf alongr the borders of our 
oceans, lakes and gulf, an impenetrable barrier to restrain 
the further development of our dominions, but we already 
have the part of* the continent that is best suited to our 
people, and are on good terms with our neighbors. We 
look out upon the great deeps that are about us and behold, 
the richest and fairest of the islands of the seas are fallino- 
into our hands like ripe fruit; and according to all prece- 
dents in our history we will be aided by all the lands we 
gain. Spain lost first her continental colonies. Her islands 
are now passing away. We, with the force of a continent 
reach out for the islands, and while the losses of Spain 
are her gain, the fact that we gather what she parts with 
will be to our advantage — this because of the power of our 
people and the stability of our Government. The strength 
of Spain will increase when she keeps her blood and her 
gold and silver at home. Our ability will augment by our 
investment in American islands and those that fall to us 
beyond the seas. 

The President is of conservative tendencies, but his 
Americanism is too predominant to allow him to follow the 
precedents of the great statesmen who, with all their great- 
ness, did not comprehend in its fulness our destiny and the 



-8 OUR COUNTRY, SPAIN AND THE FUTURE. 

duties belonging to it. And so, when the battle of Manila 
was fought, and the Philippine islands were released from 
bondage to Spain, no one appreciated more keenly, or 
understood more comprehensively the requirement, that 
we should care for the goods committed to us, than the 
President, who immediately ordered twenty thousand men 
to proceed to Manila, thirteen thousand miles away, to 
make secure our standing in the Philippines. That done, 
the United States became an Asiatic power. We have 
but to confirm our title to a conquest so far away that 
it is east or west, according to the standpoint we occupy in 
surveying ihe situation. On the Atlantic, the western 
Pacific is east. On our Pacific coast, the Asiatic shores 
and islands are west. We front on two oceans, and it is 
the logic of our expansion that we should put a girdle 
around the earth. 

The anger of Spain toward us has long been stimulated 
by the knowledge that, our attraction was so great, Cuba 
must some time be ours by gravitation. There has been 
somethino; magnetic in it. It has been a mafjnetism that all 
men have felt. The destiny of Cuba was long manifest. 
The phrase "manifest destiny" made a deep mark more 
than a generation ago. Spain resented it the more bitterly 
because the current of events, carrying Cuba away from 
her, was as certain in its direction as that of the Gulf 
Stream. The passion of Spain has increased because she 
knew her helpless situation, yet she has desperately made 
a barbarous war upon her own children. It has been 
observed that in the letter of General Maximo Gomez, 
making proclamation of his gratitude toward the people 
and the President of the United States, he is particular, after 
all his well-chosen words, to claini for Cuba an independent 
nationality. He explicitly and studiously refered to " the 



OUR COUNTRY, SPAIN AND THE FUTURE. 359 

two nations." The old warrior was dreamingr. It will not be 
in the heart or brain of the real people of Cuba to oppose 
the will of the American people. It will not be within their 
capacity, and is not any part of their purpose to obstruct 
the inevitable course of our progression. Those who would 
war against us for Cuban independence will be few and 
factional. The lone star of Cuba will take its place in our 
constellation as the lone star of Texas did. The Cuban 
people may long hold Gomez in kindly remembrance, not- 
withstanding the introduction of the torch into the war. 
The Cubans know that their cause was not helped by the 
San Domingo method of campaigning. Their greatest rev- 
erence, care and devotion will be found for the glory of 
the great republic. They will be proud to carry the flag 
and keep step to the music of the Union. They well 
know that order and liberty, peace and prosperity, are to be 
had and held only under the authoritative protection of the 
United States ; and they will not desire a change of rulers, 
from more or less bloody despots, simply to enter into the 
control of military masters. Cuba will be Americanized as 
Texas and California were. That is the happiness of her 
fate. It is the logic of every struggle she has made for 
liberty. The war with Spain, for Cuba, had been threaten- 
ing for decades. There may be certain persons claiming 
that they forced the war through schemes and incidents 
that they contrived or assisted to bring about, but this war 
of ours with Spain was in the air forty years ago. 

The possession of Cuba, by Spain, was unnatural, for the 
mother of the country had never cared for the child. The 
tropical children of the Spaniards have been treated as 
inferiors, and the idea that a native American is equal to a 
Spaniard is not only intolerable to the Spaniard — it is 
resented. This remark applies to all the colonies of Spain. 



360 



OUR COUNTRY, SPAIN AND THE FUTURE. 



The grievances of the Cubans are not exceptional — Venez- 
uela, Paraguay, Chili, Peru and Mexico suffered Spanish 
misrule as the Cubans have done, until the impositions be- 
came unbearable ; and their evolution into independence 
and unto liberty was through cruel persecutions and merci- 
less, treacherous, vindictive, persecuting wars. There has 
been no change of Spanish policy during the various changes 
of the government of Spain — little variation in methods, in 
the island, of the administrations, military and civil, of the 
representatives of the peninsula. Spain has not declined 
because she has lost her colonies on the continent — she had 
squandered their resources selfishly, and, at the same time, 
was impoverished. She was not the poorer because they 
were freed by force of arms. She was more unjust and 
corrupt abroad than at home, and hence they fell away as 
she declined. She lost neither honor nor riches when her 
colonies ceased to submit to her tyranny, which was of a 
degree so perverse, implacable and consuming as to be 
incapable of prosperity. There was no health in the sys- 
tem. Excess of greed was its own punishment. The 
ferocious profession of honor was a confession of discredit. 
If vSpain, in the future, shall show progress and retrieve 
her fallen fortunes, it will be through parting with her colo- 
nies. Many causes have been assigned for her ruined 
state. The primary one was her abuse of the colonial sys- 
tem, which corrupted the government, demoralized the army 
and navy and the entire civil service, discouraging the people. 
The colonies became schools of tyranny and official dis- 
honesty, ending in the loss of the continent, Cuba remaiii- 
ing a firebrand to kindle war with the United States. 

The jealousy and resentment of Spain toward the United 
States, and the irritation of the United States at the mis- 
government of Cuba, which increased with the poverty of 




Calikt? Garcia 



thp: last revolutionists of sfanish-america. 



OUR COUNTRY, SPAIN AND THE FUTURE. 363 

the peninsula and the riches of the island, due to her fer- 
tility of soil and variety of production, increased until, when 
the war of 1895 broke out, it was evident that the danger 
of open hostilities between the two nations had become 
imminent, and presently it was almost certain that there was 
an unfriendly crisis, ripening into an irrepressible conflict. 
The philosopher in the Senate of the United States, as the 
country was accepting the situation, was Mr. Hoar, of Mas- 
sachusetts, and this utterance of the senator was the most 
striking expression of the more considerate sentiment of 
the people: 

" If there have been any hasty or unwise utterances of 
impatience in such a cause as that, and I think there have 
been, they have been honest, brave, humane utterances. 
But when I enter upon this war I want to enter upon it with 
a united American people — President and Senate and 
House, and Army and Navy, and Democrat and Republi- 
can, all joining hands and all marching one way. I want 
to enter upon it with the sanction of international law, with 
the sympathy of all humane and liberty-loving nations, with 
the approval of our own consciences, and with a certainty 
of the applauding judgment of history. 

" I confess I do not like to think of the genius of America, 
angry, snarling, shouting, screaming, kicking, clawing with 
her nails. I like rather to think of her in her august and 
serene beauty, inspired by a sentiment even toward her 
enemies, not of hate, but of love, perhaps a little pale in the 
cheek and a dangerous light in her eye, but with a smile on 
her lips as sure, determined, unerring, invincible as was the 
Archangel Michael when he struck down and trampled 
upon the Demon of Darkness." 

The President's message of April i ith was, in the begin- 
ning, a summary history of the causes of the war then not 
21 



364 OUR COUNTRY, SPAIN AND THE FUTURE. 

declared, but in sight. The language of this paper is 
trenchant and almost peremptory, concluding : 

" I ask the Congress to authorize and empower the Pres- 
ident to take measures to secure a full and final termination 
of hostilities between the Government of Spain and the 
people of Cuba, and to secure, in the island, the establish- 
ment of a stable government, capable of maintaining order 
and observing its international obligations, insuring peace 
and tranquillity and the security of its citizens as well as 
our own, and to use the military and naval forces of the 
United States as may be necessary for these purposes. 

" The issue is now with the Congress. It is a solemn 
responsibility. I have exhausted every effort to relieve the 
intolerable condition of affairs which is at our doors. Pre- 
pared to execute every obligation imposed upon me by the 
Constitution and the law, I await your action." 

The peculiar force of this call upon Congress is displayed 
when the early paragraphs in the message, reciting griev- 
ances are scanned as follows : 

"The present revolution is but the successor of other 
similar insurrections which have occurred in Cuba against 
the dominion of Spain, extending over a period of nearly 
half a centur)^ each of which, during its progress, has sub- 
jected the United States to great effort and expense in 
enforcing its neutrality laws, caused enormous losses to 
American trade and commerce, caused irritation, annoy- 
ance, and disturbance among our citizens, and, by the exer- 
cise of cruel, barbarous and uncivilized practices of warfare, 
shocked the sensibilities and offended the humane sym- 
pathies of our people. 

"Since the present revolution began, in February, 1895, 
this country has seen the fertile domain at our threshold 
ravaged by fire and sword in the course of a struggle une- 



OUR COUNTRY, SPAIN AND THE FUTURE. 365 

qualed, in the history of the island and rarely paralleled as 
to the numbers of the combatants and the bitterness of the 
contest, by any revolution of modern times where a de- 
pendent people, striving to be free, have been opposed by 
the power of the sovereign state. 

" Our people have beheld a once prosperous community 
reduced to comparative want, its lucrative commerce virtu- 
ally paralyzed, its exceptional productiveness diminished, its 
fields laid waste, its mills in ruins, and its people perishing 
by tens of thousands from hunger and destitution. We 
have found ourselves constrained, in the observance of that 
strict neutrality which our laws enjoin, and which the law of 
nations commands, to police our own waters and watch our 
own seaports in prevention of any unlawful act in aid of 
the Cubans. 

'* Our trade has suffered ; the capital invested by our 
citizens in Cuba has been largely lost, and the temper and 
forbearance of our people have been so sorely tried as to 
beget a perilous unrest among our own citizens which has 
inevitably found its expression, from time to time, in the 
National Legislature, so that issues wholly external to our 
own body politic engross attention and stand m the way of 
that close devotion to domestic advancement that becomes 
a self-contained commonwealth whose primal maxim has 
been the avoidance of all foreign entanglements." 

The President quoted his predecessors, Cleveland, Grant 
and Jackson, saying of Cleveland that he made an effort to 
bring about a peace through the mediation of this Govern- 
ment in any way that might tend to an honorable adjust- 
ment of the contest between Spain and her revolted colony, 
on the basis of some effective scheme of self-government 
for Cuba under the flag and sovereignty of Spain. It failed 
through the refusal of the Spanish Government then in 



366 OUR COUNTRY. SPAIN AND THE FUTURE. 

power to consider any form of mediation, or, indeed, any 
plan of settlement which did not begin with the actual sub- 
mission of the insurgents to the mother country, and then 
only on such terms as Spain herself might see fit to grant. 
The war continued unabated. 

General Grant's " measured words" were quoted, uttered 
in 1875, when after seven years of sanguinary, destructive, 
and cruel hostilities in Cuba he reached the conclusion 
that the recognition of the independence of Cuba was im- 
practicable and indefensible ; and that the recognition of 
belligerence was not warranted by the facts according to 
the tests of public law. 

" I am of opinion that other nations will be compelled to 
assume the responsibility which devolves upon them, and 
to seriously consider the only remaining measures possible 
■ — mediation and intervention. Owing, perhaps, to the 
Jarge expanse of water separating the island from the Pen- 
insula, . . . the contending parties appear to have, within 
themselves, no depository of common confidence, to suggest 
wisdom when passion and excitement have their sway, and 
to assume the part of peacemaker." 

Jackson was quoted — against the recognition, in 1836, of 
the independence of Texas : 

" Prudence seems to dictate that we should still stand 
aloof and maintain our present attitude, if not until Mexico 
itself or one of the great foreign powers shall recognize the 
independence of the new government, at least, until the 
lapse of time or the course of events shall have proven 
beyond cavil or dispute, the ability of the people of that 
country to maintain their separate sovereignty and to 
uphold the government constituted by them. Neither of 
the contending parties can justly complain of this course. 
By pursuing it we are but carrying out the long-established 



OUR COUNTRY, SPAIN AND THE FUTURE. 367 

policy of our Government, a policy which has secured to us 
respect and influence abroad, and inspired confidence at 
home." 

And yet Jackson finally influenced the recognition and 
annexation of Texas. 

The reference to the blowing up of the ' Maine ' in the 
President's message on the eve of war must be presented 
here: 

"The present condition of affairs in Cuba is a constant 
menace to our peace, and entails upon this Government an 
enormous expense. With such a conflict waged for years 
in an island so near us, and v/ith which our people have 
such trade and business relations — when the lives and 
liberty of our citizens are in constant danger and their 
property destroyed and themselves ruined — where our 
trading vessels are liable to seizure and are seized at our 
very door by war ships of a foreign nation, the expeditions 
of filibustering that we are powerless to prevent alto- 
gether, and the irritating questions and disagreements thus 
arisinof — all these and others that I need not mention, with 
the resulting strained relations, are a constant menace to 
our peace, and compel us to keep on a semi-war footing 
with a nation with which we are at peace. 

"These elements of danger and disorder, already 
pointed out, have been strikingly illustrated by a tragic 
event which has deeply and justly moved the American 
people. I have already transmitted to Congress the report 
of the naval court of inquiry on the destruction of the 
battleship ^ Maine' in the harbor of Havana during the 
night of the 15th of February. The destruction of that 
noble vessel has filled the national heart with inexpressible 
horror. Two hundred and fifty-eight brave sailors and 
marines, and two officers of our Navy, reposing in the 



368 OUR COUNTRY, SPAIN AND THE FUTURE. 

fancied security of a friendly harbor, have been hurled to 
death, grief and want brought to their homes, and sorrow 
to the nation. 

"The naval court of inquiry, which, it is needless to say, 
commands the unqualified confidence of the Government, 
was unanimous in its conclusion that the destruction of the 
' Maine ' was caused by an exterior explosion, that of a sub- 
marine mine. It did not assume to place the responsibility. 
That remains to be fixed. 

" In any event the destruction of the 'Maine' by whatever 
exterior cause, is a patent and impressive proof of a state 
of things in Cuba that is intolerable. That condition is 
thus shown to be such that the Spanish Government can 
not assure safety and security to a vessel of the American 
Navy in the harbor of Havana on a mission of peace, and 
rightfully there." 

The steps by which the President kept pace with the 
movement of the situation were cautious, but firm. In the 
course of the Senate debate Senator Hoar read an ex- 
tract of the " London Times " containing this passage : 

"We cannot refuse our sympathy to the people of the 
United States in circumstances which would have made it 
difficult, even for our own countrymen, to preserve their 
boasted calm. We should have needed all our self-com- 
mand to combine dignity with equity in such a trying posi- 
tion. It is bare justice to say that however inexcusable the 
language of some of the newspapers of the United States 
may have been, the attitude of President McKinley is 
equally dignified and fair. 

" In this matter, whatever disagreements we may have 
had from time to time with our trans-Atlantic kinsmen, our 
sympathies are on their side. We share their grief at the 
loss under such cruel conditions of a noble vessel of war 



OUR COUNTRY, SPAIN AND THE FUTURE. 365 

and a gallant crew. We admire the patience and the re- 
serve of a democratic government in circumstances of pro- 
vocation, in the presence of public excitement which it 
would only have been too easy to fan into a flame. 

Senator Hoar of this, remarked : " I affirm, and I chal- 
lenge contradiction, that that sympathy and that expression 
of respect has been won for us largely, if not wholly, by the 
diplomatic bearing and conduct of the President of the 
United States in this emergency." 

The President's message, transmitted to Congress April 
25th, was as follows: 

" To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Lnited States of America ; 

" I transmit to the Congress, for its consideration and appropriate action, 
copies of the correspondence recently had with the representative of Spain in the 
United States, with the United States Minister at Madrid, and through the latter 
with the Government of Spain, showing the action taken under the joint reso- 
lution approved April 20, 1898, 'for the recognition of the independence of 
the people of Cuba, demanding that the Government of Spain rehnquish its 
authority and government in the Island of Cuba, and to withdraw its land and 
naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters, and directing the President of the 
United States to use the land and naval forces of the United States to carry 
these resolutions into effect.' 

" Upon communicating to the Spanish Minister in Washington the demand 
which it became the duty of the Executive to address to the Government of 
Spam in obedience to said resolution, the minister asked for his passports and 
withdrew. The United States Minister at Madrid was in turn notified by the 
Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs that the withdrawal of the Spanish repre- 
sentative from the United States had terminated diplomatic relations between 
the two countries, and that all official communications between their respective 
representatives ceased therewith. 

" I commend to your special attention the note addressed to the United 
States Minister at Madrid by the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs on the 21st 
instant, whereby the foregoing notification was conveyed. It will be perceived 
therefrom that the Government of Spain, having cognizance of the joint resolu- 
tion of the United States Congress, and in view of the things which the Presi- 
dent is thereby required and authorized to do, responds by treating the reason- 
able demands of this Government as measures of hostihty, following with that 
instant and complete severance of relations by its action, which by the usage 
of nations accompanies an existent state of war between sovereign powers 



370 OUR COUNTRY, SPAIN AND THE FUTURE. 

''The position of Spain being thus made known, and the demands of the 
United States being denied with a complete rupture of intercourse by the act of 
Spain, I have been constrained, m exercise of the power and authority conferred 
upon me by the joint resohition aforesaid, to proclaim under date of April 22, 
1898, a blockade of certain ports of the north coast of Cuba, lying between 
Cardenas and Bahia Honda, and of the port of Cienfuegos on the south coast of 
Cuba ; and further, in exercise of my constitutional powers and using the authority 
conferred upon me by the act of Congress approved April 22, 1898, to issue 
my proclamation dated April 23, 1898, calling forth volunteers in order to carry 
into effect the said resolution of April 20, 1898. Copies of these proclamations 
are hereto appended. 

"In view of the measure so taken, and with a view to the adoption of such 
other measures as may be necessary to enable me to carry out the expressed 
will of the Congress of the United States in the premises, I now recommend to 
your honorable body the adoption of a joint resolution declaring that a state of 
war exists between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain, 
and I urge speedy action thereon to the end that the definition of the interna- 
tional status of the United States as a belligerent power may be made known, 
and the assertion of all its rights and the maintenance of all its duties in the 

conduct of a public war may be assured. 

"William McKinley. 
" Executive Mansion, 

Washington, April 2^, j8g8." 

Congress acted immediately upon this recommendation 
and the war was on. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 

Congress Declares War— Reasons for the Patience of the President — Cause of 
the Impatience of Congress in Going to War with Spain — Scenes and 
Speeches in the Senate and House — Development of Public Opinion — 
The Order of the Proceedings, the Declaration of War, and the Execu- 
tive Proclamations. 

As the rainy season and the yellow fever period were at 
hand in Cuba, and the famished being fed, so far as Ameri- 
can charity might go, the passionate outcry against delay 
meant something different from war as a well-considered 
and conducted business. It was the fate of the battle-ship 
Maine that raised the storm. The President's duty 
certainly was to exhaust his powers of diplomacy to make 
peace, and the few days permitted him for deliberation in 
the midst of excitement of the most intense character 
should not have been grudged him. His labor for pacifi- 
cation, though unsuccessful, were not without propitious 
results. Senator Hoar enumerated as amonof them the 
consideration of the public opinion of the country, recon- 
ciling all elements to the issue of arms, securing the respect- 
ful sympathy of the civilized powers, especially the good- 
will power of England. This was worth some delay. There 
was a great deal of fine construction of the language of 
the President's message that was accompanied by the con- 
sular reports. All important passages were searched with 
refinement of criticism, sharpened with keen animosity in 
some cases, and the most contradictory and impossible 
theories encountered each other. 

Senator Lodge said of the situation that there was first 

371 



372 



THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 



the duty of unity of the government, of the people stand- 
ing together; that the President had commendably ex- 
hausted his powers under the Constitution in pacific 
efforts, and when there was an end of diplomacy he turned 
the issue of an intolerable situation over to Congress, 
whose constitutional contact with foreign powers was the 
declaration of war; and it was the exercise of that awful 
power that the President's message invoked. Impatient 
as many Congressmen had been at the loss of a day in 
striking at the oppressors of Cuba, and avenging the hor- 
rible crime against humanity and national insult in the 
harbor of Havana, it was not possible to get along with- 
out debate. The methods of the House allow the majority 
to make short work of discussion, but in the Senate the 
case is widely different. The American Senate is the 
least controllable and most deliberative legislative body 
in the world. The series of able speeches in the Senate, 
by turns fiery, scholastic, persuasive, passionate and pa- 
thetic, aided in forming correct public opinion, and satis- 
fying the conscience of the country that all sides of a 
great and most grave question were turned to the light, 
and all motives of action subjected to analysis. On the 
13th of April the House, 334 to 19, resolved for immediate 
intervention as follows : 

"Whereas, The government of Spain, for three years past, has been 
waging war on the island of Cuba against a revolution by the inhabitants 
thereof, without making any substantial progress toward the suppression of 
said revolution, and has conducted the warfare in a manner contrary to the 
laws of nations by methods inhuman and uncivilized, causing the death, by 
starvation, of more than two hundred thousand non-combatants, the victims 
being, for the most part, helpless women and children ; inflicting intolerable 
injury to the commercial interests of the United States, involving the destruc- 
tion of the lives and property of many of our citizens, entailing the expenditure 
of millions of money in patrolling our coasts and policing the high seas in order 
to maintain a neutrality ; and 



THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 



373 



" Whereas, This long series of losses, injuries, and burdens for which Spain 
is responsible, has culminated in the destruction of the United States battle-ship 
* Maine,' in the harbor of Havana, and in the death of 260 of our seamen, 

" Resolved, etc., That the President is hereby authorized and directed to 
intervene at once to stop the war in Cuba to the intent and purpose of securing 
permanent peace and order there, and establishing, by the free action of the 
people thereof, a stable and independent government of their own in the island 
of Cuba ; and the President is hereby authorized and empowered to use the 
land and naval forces of the United States to execute the purpose of the reso- 
lution." 

The vote against the resolution was cast by the following 
named members : 

Republicans. — Representatives Boutelle, of Maine; Johnson, of Indiana; and 
Loud, of California. 

Democrats. — Representatives Adamson, of Georgia; Bankhead, of Alabama; 
Brantley, of Georgia ; Brewer, of Alabama ; Clayton, of Alabama ; Cox, of Ten- 
nessee; Elliott, of South Carolina; Griggs, of Georgia; Howard, of Georgia; Lewis, 
of Georgia; Lester, of Georgia; Maddox, of Georgia; Strait, ~>f South Ca">lina; 
Tate, of Georgia ; and Taylor, of Alabama. 

Populist. — Representative Simpson, of Kansas. 

The Democratic joint resolution defeated in the House, 
yeas 150, nays 191, was in these terms : 

'' Resolved^ That the United States government hereby recognizes the inde- 
pendence of the Republic of Cuba. 

''Section 2. — That, moved thereto by many considerations of humanity, of 
interest and of provocation, among which are the deliberate mooring of our 
battle-ship, the * Maine,' over a submarine mine and its destruction in the harbor 
of Havana, the President of the United States be and is hereby directed to em- 
ploy immediately the land and naval forces of the United States in aiding the 
Repubhc of Cuba to maintain the independence hereby recognized. 

" Section J. — That the President of the United States is hereby authorized and 
directed to extend immediate relief to the starving people of Cub? '' 

The Senate debate was on the following : 

" Whereas, The abhorrent condidons which have existed for more than three 
years in the Island of Cuba, so near our own borders, have shocked the moral 
sense of the people of the United States, have been a disgrace to Christian 
civilization, culminating, as they have, in the destruction of a United States 
battle-ship, with 266 of its officers and crew, while on a friendly visit in the 
harbor of Havana, and cannot longer be endured, as has been set forth by the 
President of the United States in his message to Congress of April 11, 1898, 
upon which the action of Congress was invited ; therefore. 



374 



THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 



" Resolved hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States 
of America in Congress assembled — 

" First. — That the people of the Island of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, 
free and independent. 

" Seco7id. — That it is the duty of the United States to demand, and the govern- 
ment of the United States does hereby demand, that the government of Spain 
at once rehnquish its authority and government in the Island of Cuba and 
withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters. 

" Third. — That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, di- 
rected and empowered to use the entire land and naval forces of the United 
States, and to call into the actual service of the United States the militia of the 
several States, to such extent as may be necessary to carry these resolutions 
into effect." 

This is the report of the majority of the Senate Com- 
mittee on Foreign Relations : 

Senators Turpie, Mills and Daniel, Democrats, and For- 
aker, Republican, favored the immediate recognition of the 
independence of Cuba, but supported otherwise the action 
of the majority. 

" It is established that the Maine was destroyed by the explosion of a sub- 
marine mine in position under her in a Spanish harbor, at a place where she 
had been moored to a buoy by the express direction and guidance of the 
Spanish authorities. 

" The duplicity, perfidy and cruelty of the Spanish character, as they always 
have been, are demonstrated still to continue by their manifestations during 
the present war in Cuba. All these circumstances considered cumulatively, 
together with other considerations, which will exactly accord with and add 
force to them, undenied and unexplained as they are by any authority, except- 
ing the baseless report of the Spanish Board of Inquiry, warrant the conclusion 
stated hereinbefore, that the destruction of the Maine was compassed either 
by the official act of the Spanish authorities (and the ascertainment of the par- 
ticular person is not material), or was made possible by a negligence on their 
part so willing and gross as to be equivalent in culpability to positive criminal 
action. 

" Upon due consideration of all the relevant facts of the relation of this 
government with Spain, including the destruction of the Maine, and of the 
history of the rebellion, it is the opinion of your committee that the United 
States ought at once to recognize the independence of the people of Cuba, and 
also ought to intervene to the end that the war and its unexampled atrocities 
shall cease, and that such independence shall become a settled political fact at 
the earliest possible moment by the estabhshment — by the free action of the 



THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 



375 



people of Cuba, when such action can be had — of a government independent 
in fact and form." 

The Senate Committee's report is a strong document. 
In one day there was news of the mobilization of the army, 
the impressment of the American steamers St. Louis 
and St. Paul, and the series of events in America cul- 
minating in the action of the House on intervention and the 
debate in the Senate, when the President invited the Con- 
gress to take the case, the only capacity in foreign relations 
under the Constitution of Congress, being to declare war, 
was the moral equivalent of that portentous declaration. 

There were many express declarations of dissatisfaction 
in the debates in the Senate and House, with the conserva- 
tive attitude of the President. Mr. Harris, Senator from 
Kansas, said, April 5th : 

" Mr. President, all over this land there is the cry, * Why 
do you wait ? ' and the flag snarls and flouts the wind, im- 
patient. 

" Oh, God, it can not be that we forget ! that we 
forget ! 

" Sir, I have seen war. If to die were to reach the summit 
of human calamity, if to weep and mourn for the loved and 
lost were to make up the sum of human woe, then nothing 
would be worse than war. But, sir, there is a crucifixion 
of the soul when honor dies ; there is a death of a nation 
' when the jingle of the guinea heals the hurt that honor 
feels ; ' there is an existence, when patriotic pride is dead, 
* that doth murder sleep,' and life becomes a horrid night- 
mare, and men shun their fellows, and the laugh of little 
children becomes a taunt and a mockery. True, there 
have been men who could exist and thrive and fatten with- 
out national honor or pride or patriotism, like worms in a 
muck heap, but that nation has been the scorned of all 



376 THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 

time and has quickly died. God forbid that any such 
should ever be called Americans. 

"Sir, I shall never consent that our dead shall lie in 
Spanish soil and under the Spanish flag. Brave American, 
sailors can know no rest there. When it becomes conse- 
crated by freedom, when that flag- has trailed in the dust, 
when the Cuban Republic is raised as a monument to the 
men who went down in the MainCy then, and then only, 
will they sleep. 

" Do you say this is revenge, and that revenge is un- 
worthy of a great nation ? No, Mr. President, a righteous 
•wrath and just resentment, the swift punishment of the 
assassin and the wrongdoer, are wholly different from 
revenge, and are the safeguards and protection of a nation 
among nations, and enable us to look the whole world in 
the face. What sight more glorious than a nation roused 
in such a cause as this ! 

" God hates a coward, and a nation timid, halting, and 
hesitating in its foreign policy is a sight despised of God 
and man." 

Senator Rawlins said : 

"For years our Government administration, our con- 
duct in respect to the Cuban question, our relations to the 
kingdom of Spain, have been so cowardly and pusillani- 
mous, so unworthy of any self-respecting people in this 
wide world, that the Spanish people are justified in holding 
us in contempt. Had it been that they respected and 
feared us, as they would fear and respect any other self- 
respecting government, our ship Maiiie would not have 
been treacherously destroyed and the bodies of our sailors 
would not have been mangled and lost. That crime must 
be charged to our indecision and cowardice." 

Mr. Bailey : 



THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. ^^ 

"The House was adjourned from Friday until to-day to 
give the President time and opportunity to prepare his 
message. The hour that such messages usually reach this 
House has passed, and every well-informed man on both 
sides of the House knows no message will come from the 
President to-day. Now, Mr. Speaker, it seems to me im- 
portant that the country shall understand what Congress is 
doing and intends to do. 

" It seems to me equally important that this House shall 
know what the executive department is doing and intends 
to do. We ought not to be asked day after day and week 
after week to provide for an emergency which gentlemen 
on that side believe has either passed or never existed. I 
am ready, and every gentleman on this side of the Cham- 
ber is ready, to sustain the Administration in every proper 
measure to prepare for war." 

Mr. Lentz : " We heard a gentleman on the other side 
of the House say, during this discussion, that the rainy sea- 
son is coming on in Cuba, and that we ought * to be slow 
in going to war at this time ! ' Mr. Chairman, I have 
never heard anybody say that we ought not to go to war 
because we are afraid of rain. 

"This is a free country, and with the 447 Senators and 
Congressmen, representatives of a great people, we are 
better able to decide questions as to the policy of this 
Government in view of the facts before us, and are better 
fitted to advise the President, than are those who go at 
midnight, behind closed doors, to point out the views of 
the plutocrats and submit them as the voice of the people. 
This is a Government yet * by the people and for the peo- 
ple,' and it will remain so. 

"I predict this, that these 266 American brothers, the 
martyrs of the Maine shall not forever rest unavenged in 



378 THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 

the soil of a tyrant. Our American manhood — the youth 
of this country — will not rest until that matter has been ad- 
justed to their satisfaction, and to the honor of this country. 
They will be aroused by the language of poets and philo- 
sophers, and a popular sentiment will override the hesi- 
tating and faltering policy of the money power. 

" Lee Fairchild's words, published lately in the ' Washing- 
ton Times,' will put new life in the youth of this country. 
Young men will begin to feel and think in sympathy with 
the stricken hearts of the mothers, the widows, and the 
sisters of this land who have been bereft of loved ones by this 
horror in Havana harbor, when they hear his noble words : 

" We have a thousand guns; what did we make them for, 
If not in times hke these to speak the speech of war ? 
Let's fight or quit our brag and take our banter back ; 
Paint white our ships again, and paint our White House black." 

Senator Spooner had regretted utterances in the Senate 
and he added: "I have regretted them because I felt 
they might embarrass the President in delicate and difficult 
negotiations with a peculiar people. I have regretted them 
because I knew that if they could by any possibility, result 
in a rupture of diplomatic intercourse and precipitate war, 
we would be found unready. I have deprecated them in 
the Senate for another reason, that under our form of 
government this body sustains a peculiar relation to the 
President in the matter of foreign relations. He has the 
right, in stress, to come into this Chamber, to ask us to 
close our doors to the world, and permit him to take this 
body into his confidence, and to invoke its advice. This 
has been done once in a crisis since the Government was 
founded. And, therefore, it has seemed to me that here, 
of all places, he should be free from criticism and the em- 
barrassment of either sensational or condemnatory speech. 



THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 381 

"The President needs no defense from me. He has 
conducted the negotiations. I do not know what the cor- 
respondence is. I have the best of reason, however, to 
beHeve that his failure to transmit it was due to reasons 
which would commend themselves to every thoughtful per- 
son in this country, 

" It is not easy to conceive a more difficult and burden- 
some duty than has under the Constitution rested upon 
him. He has been obliged to so conduct this negotiation 
as not only to satisfy his own great constituency, if possible, 
but with a view to commend this Government to the en- 
lightened sentiment of the governing powers of the world. 
He has traveled, of necessity, the path of diplomacy alone, 
and I can well imagine it has been a long and wearisome 
journey. He has felt the pressure of public opinion here, 
stirred to its depths. It is to the eternal glory of our peo- 
ple, however, that, notwithstanding horrors unspeakable, 
they have maintained an attitude of dignity and calm, 
awaiting with intense feeling, but with wonderful patience, 
the march of events. 

"The President has seen some old friends seem to fall 
away from him. He has heard the voice of criticism. 
Doubtless he has been stung by the tongue of slander. I 
I do not know, for I have heard no word from him. I do 
know that, as an American President should, he has gone 
along the pathway calm, patient, intrepid to the end. There 
is not to-day in any court of Europe, so far as I know, ex- 
cept the Spanish court, a statesman, or a great newspaper 
who, or which has not applauded his firmness, his discretion, 
and the dignity of his demeanor in the midst of domestic 
excitement and Congressional impatience. This good 
opinion of our President is worth much to our people. 

" The President has been criticised for the tone of his 



382 THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 

message in regard to the Maine. It has been said that it 
was cold and passionless. The Chief Executive of seventy 
million people, conducting a case almost inevitably leading 
to war, must be passionless, must be calm. If he be not so 
in the surging tide of popular passion, what, then, is to 
become of a government by the people ? 

" I approved when that message was read, and I approve 
now, its spirit, its tone, and its language. The President 
was not called upon to denounce the Spanish Government 
as guilty of participating in the explosion of the Maine. It 
would have been the height of unwisdom. He could, and 
a rash man would have so done, have sent a message to 
Congress which would have broken off in a moment diplo- 
matic relations and plunged this country into war. Were 
we ready? No, Mr. President! He knew then, we know 
now, and the people know now, that we were not ready. It 
was the President's duty to be calm and patient, even to 
temporize, that we might become prepared for war, and 
every hour preparations have gone forward under his direc- 
tion." 

Before coming to a vote on the Senate resolutions, Mr. 
Hoar gave the following objections to supporting them : 
We quote : 

" Mr. Hoar; Mr. President, I cannot give my vote for 
this resolution upon its final passage for several reasons, 
which I desire to state. 

" First. It contains an affirmation contrary to the fact 
when it affirms that the Republic of Cuba is now free and 
independent in the face of what I conceive to be the fact, 
in the face of the declaration, as I understand it, of the 
person high in command in the troops of the insurgents, 
who has declared he could prolong the struggle to obtain 
that independence for twelve years. 



THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 383 

'• Second. It undertakes to take from the Executive his 
constitutional power, power affirmed by every Executive 
from the beginning, a power affirmed by our great author- 
ities on constitutional law from Alexander Hamilton down 
to the Senior Senator from Alabama [Mr. Morgan], who 
within three years, and I think also within three hours, has 
strongly reaffirmed that that power belongs to the Execu- 
tive and cannot be constitutionally exercised by Congress. 

" I cannot vote for the joint resolution because it intro- 
duces, and I believe was meant to introduce, discord and 
divided counsels in what ought to be the act of a united 
country. 

" I cannot vote for it because it undertakes to direct, con- 
trary to all our legislative precedents, a co-ordinate branch 
of the Government, the Executive, ordering him to proceed 
at once when his constitutional and leeal duties are defined 
by the Constitution, and not by the law-making power. 

"I cannot vote for it because it is contrary to the cour- 
tesies which prevail between the legislative and Executive, 
and undertakes to take from the discretion of the Executive 
what ought to belong to him under the Constitution itself. 

"I will not vote for it because if it pass and the govern- 
ment of Cuba be now free and independent, the forces of 
the Army of the United States on Cuban land, and the 
Navy of the United States in Cuban waters, must be under 
the command of the insurgent leader, or their presence 
there is a war against him. 

" Gentlemen have tried by refined and deluding argu- 
ments to torture a sentence of the President of the United 
States, separated from its context, into a suggestion that 
possibly he might be expecting to make war upon these 
insurgents. And yet, and you cannot escape from it, you 
are undertaking, in your eager passion, to do something 



g^ THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 

which will be unpleasant to those of your associates who 
support the President. You are making an affirmation, I 
repeat, which will put the Army and Navy of the United 
States under the command of Maximo Gomez the moment 
they get into Cuban waters or on to Cuban soil, or their 
presence there is war upon the recognized and established 
government of the country which you say is his. 

"Sixth. I will not vote for it because it violates interna- 
tional law, and thereby in this great transaction sets the 
sympathy of the nations of the world against us. 

"Mr. President, I am not alarmed or disturbed because 
in the vote I am about to give I am to encounter the dissent 
of an excited, inflated and angered majority." 

In the Senate on April i6th the joint resolution was read 
the third time, as amended, as follows : 

A joint resolution (H. Res. 233) authorizing and directing the President of the 
United States to intervene to stop the war in Cuba, and for tlie purpose of 
estabHshing a stable and independent government of the people therein. 

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of 
America in Cotigress assembled, First. That the people of the Island of Cuba 
are, and of right ought to be, free and independent, and that the Government of 
the United States hereby recognizes the Republic of Cuba as the true and lawful 
Government of that island. 

Second. That it is the duty of the United States to demand, and the Govern- 
ment of the United States does hereby demand, that the Government of Spain 
at once relinquish its authority and government in the Island of Cuba and with- 
draw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters. 

Third. That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, directed 
and empowered to use the entire land and naval forces of the United States, and 
to call into the actual service of the United States the militia of the several States, 
to such extent as may be necessary to carry these resolutions into effect. 

Fourth. That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention 
to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said island, except for the 
pacification thereof, and asserts its determination when that is accomplished to 
leave the government and control of the island to its people. 

The Vice-President. The question is, Shall the joint 
resolution pass ? 



THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 



3^5 



Mr. Hoar. I ask for the yeas and nays on the passage 
of the joint resokition. 

The yeas and nays were ordered ; and being taken, 
resulted — yeas 67,* nays 2\r\ 

In the House, April i8th the Senate resolution was re- 
ceived. Mr. Dingley moved the House concur in the 
Senate amendment to House joint resolution No. 233 with 
an amendment striking out in the first paragraph the 
words "are and" and also the words "and that the Gov- 
ernment of the United States hereby recognizes the Re- 
public of Cuba as the true and lawful government of that 
island ; " so that the first paragraph of said Senate amend- 
ment will read as follows : 

" First. That the people of the Island of Cuba of right 
ought to be free and independent." 

[Applause.] 

Also amend the title of said joint resolution by striking 
out the words "and Republic of Cuba." 

The Speaker. The question is on agreeing to the mo- 
tion of the gentleman from Maine to concur in the Senate 
amendment with an amendment. 

The question was taken ; and the House proceeded to 
divide. 

Mr. Bailey. Mr. Speaker, I demand the yeas and nays. 

The yeas and nays were ordered. 

* Yeas. — Allen, Bacon, Baker, Bate, Berry, Butler, Cannon, Carter, Chandler, 
Chilton, Clark, Clay, Cockrell, Cullom, Daniel, Davis, Deboe, Faulkner, For- 
aker, Frye, Gallinger, Gear, Gorman, Gray, Hansbrough, Harris, Heitfeld, 
Jones, Ark., Jones, Nev., Kenny, Kyle, Lindsay, Lodge, McEnery, McLaurin, 
Mallory, Mantle, Martin, Mason, Mills, Mitchell, Money, Morgan, Murphy, Nel- 
son, Pasco, Penrose, Perkins, Pettigrew, Pettus, Proctor, Quay, Rawlins, Roach, 
Shoup, Smith, Stewart, Teller, Thurston, Tihman, Turley, Turner, Turpie, 
Vest, Warren, Wilson, Walcott. 

fNAYS—Aldrich, Allison, Barrows, Caffery, Elkins, Fairbanks, Hale, Hanna, 
Hawley, Hoar, McBride, McMillan, Morrill, Piatt, Conn., Piatt, N. Y., Pritchard, 
Sewell, Spooner, Wellington, Wetmore, White. Absent.— Walthall. 



3S6 



THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 



The question was taken; and there were — yeas 178,* 
nays 156,-}- answered "present" 2, \ not voting 19. § 

*Yeas.— Acheson, Adams, Aldrich,^ Alexander, Arnold, Babcock, Baker, Md.. 
Barham, Barney, Barrett, Barrows, Bartholdt, Beach, Belden, Belford, Belknap, 
Bennett, Bishop, Booze, Boutelle, 111., Brewster, Broderick, Brownlow, Brumm, 
Bull, Burleigh, Burton, Butler, Cannon, Capron, Chickering, Clark, Iowa, Clarke, 
N. H., Cochrane, N. Y., Codding, Connell, Connolly, Corliss, Cousins, Crump, 
Crumpacker, Curtis, Kans., Dalzell, Danford, Davenport, Davidson, Wis., Da- 
vison, Ky., Dayton, Dingley, Dolliver, Dovener, Eddy, Ellis, Evans, Paris, 
Fischer, Fletcher, Foote, Foss, Fowler, N.J., Gardner, Gibson, Gillet, N. Y., 
Gillett, Mass., GraflF, Griffin, Grosvenor, Grout, Grow, Hager, Hamilton, Har- 
mer, Havvley, Heatwole, Hemenway, Henderson, Henry, Conn., Henry, Ind., 
Hepburn, Hicks, Hilborn, Hill, Hooker, Hopkins, Howard, Ala., Howe, 
Howell, Hull, Hurley, Jenkins, Joy, Kerr, Ketcham, Kirkpatrick, Knox, Kulp, 
Lacey, Landis, Lawrence, Linney, Littauer, Loudenslager, Lovering, Low, Ly- 
brand, McCall, McCleary, McDonald, McEwan, Mclntire, Mahon, Marsh, Mer- 
cer, Mesick, Miller, Mills, Minor, Mitchell, Moody, Morris, Mudd, Northway, 
Odell, Olmsted, Otjen, Overstreet, Packer, Pa., Parker, N. J., Payne, Pearce, 
Mo., Pearson, Perkins, Pitney, Prince, Pugh, Quigg, Ray, Reeves, Robbins, 
Royse, Russell, Shannon, Shattuc, Shelden, Sherman, Showalter, Smith, III., 
Smith, S W., Smith, Wm., Alden, Snover, Southard, Southwick, Spalding, 
Sperry, Sprague, Steele, Stevens, Minn., Stewart, N. J., Stewart, Wis., Stone, 
C. W., Stone, W. A., Strode, Nebr., Sturtevant, Tawney, Tayler, Oliio, Thorp, 
Tongue, UpdegrafF, Van Voorhis, W'alker, Mass., Walker, Va., Wanger, Ward, 
Weaver, Weymouth, Williams, Pa., Yost, Young, Pa. 

fNAYS. — Adamson, Allen, Bailey, Baird, Baker, 111., Ball, Bankhead, Barlow, 
Bartlett, Bell, Benner, Pa., Benton, Bland, Bodine, Botkin, Bradley, Brantley, 
Brenner, Ohio, Bromwell, Broussard, Brown, Brucker, Brundidge Burke, 
Campbell, Carmack, Castle, Catchings, Clardy, Clark, Mo., Clayton, Cochran, 
Mo., Colson, Cooney, Cooper, Tex., Cooper, Wis., Cowherd, Cox, Cummings, 
Davey, Davis, De Armond, De Graffenreid, De Vries, Dinsmore, Dockery, 
Dorr, Driggs, Elliott, Ermentrout, Fitzgerald, Fitzpatrick, Fleming, Fowler, 
N. C, Fox, Gaines, Greene, Griffith, Griggs, Gunn, Handy, Hartman, Hay, 
Henry, Miss., Henry, Tex., Hinrichsen, Howard, Ga., Hunter, Jett, Johnson, 
Ind., Johnson, N. Dak., Jones, Va., Jones, Wash., Kelley, King, Kleberg, 
Knowles, Lamb, Lenham, Latimer, Lentz, Lester, Lewis, Ga., Lewis, Wash., 
Little, Livingston, Lloyd, Lorimer, Loud, Love, McClellan, McCormick, Mc- 
Culloch, McDowell, McMillin, McRae, Maddox, Maguire, Mahany, Mann, Mar- 
shall, Martin, Maxwell, Meekison, Meyer, La., Miers, Ind., Moon, Newlands, 
Norton, Ohio, Norton, S. C, Ogden, Otey, Peters, Pierce, Teiin., Rhea, 
Richardson, Ridgely, Rixey, Robb, Robertson, La., Robinson, Ind , Sayers. 
Settle, .Shafroth, Shuford, Simpson, Sims, Slayden, Smitli, Ky., Sparkman, 
Stallings, Stark, Stephens, Tex., Stokes, Strowd, N. C, Sullivan, Sulloway, 
Sulzer, Sutherland, Swanson, Talbert, Tate, Taylor, Ala., Terry, Todd, Under- 



THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 387 

So the motion to concur with an amendment was agreed 
to. 

The President did not receive the resolutions declaring 
the Cuban conditions, until one o'clock the next day, and 
the language in which Congress would give its expression 
was not certainly known in a very important particular 
until the final vote was taken. Still it was held by some 
of the more ardent members that it was " delay " in the 
President not to attach his signature of approval the hour 
he received this paper. The next day in the Cabinet 
Room at twenty-four minutes after eleven o'clock, he took 
up the engrossed parchment, which was on the table before 
him, and wrote, 

" Approved. 

" William McKinley. 
"April 20, 1898." 
The silence was so deep that the sound of the pen was 
plainly heard. 

As soon as the ultimatum had been approved, the Presi- 
dent directed that it be transmitted at once to Minister 
Woodford and when the cipher copy, which Judge Day 
had prepared, kad been despatched to the cable office, a 
summons was sent to Edward Savoy, a trusted messenger 
of the State Department. He appeared in a few minutes 
in the lobby outside of the Cabinet Room, and was handed 
a sealed envelope containing a copy of the ultimatum, 
being directed to present it to the Spanish Minister. Hasten- 
ing to the Spanish Legation on Massachusetts avenue, he 

wood, Vandiver, Vincent, Warner, Wheeler, Ala., Wheeler, Ky., White, 111., 
Williams, Miss, Wilson, Young, Va., Zenor. 

± Answered "Present." — Berr^, Boutelle, Me. 

\ Not Voting. — Barber, Bingham, Brewer, Brosius, Cranford, Curtis, Iowa, 
Fenton, Hitt, Kitchin, McAleer, Osborne, Powers, Sauerhering, Skinner, 
Strait, Vehslage, Wadsworth, White, N. C, Wilber. 



388 THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 

make known the personal nature of his mission and was 
immediately shown into the Minister's library. Senor Polo 
shook hands with him and then received the important 
missive. 

While the messenger waited — the same messenger, by 
the way, who carried Lord Sackville his passports on 
another memorable occasion — the Spanish Minister glanced 
over the document, with the general nature of which he 
was already acquainted through the public press. Then 
he enclosed in another envelope his letter demanding his 
passports, and handed it to the messenger, who hurried 
with it to the White House. 

Legation de Espana, Washington, April 20, 1898. 

Mr, Secretary: — The resolution adopted by the Congress of the United 
States of America, and approved by the President, is of such a character that 
my permanence in Washington becomes impossible, and obliges me to request 
you the delivery of my passports. 

The protection of the Spanish interests will be intrusted to the French Am- 
bassador and to the Austrian-Hungarian Minister. On this occasion, very 
painful to me, I have the honor to renew to you the assurances of my highest 
consideration. 

(Signed) Luis Polo de Bernabe. 

Hon. John Sherman, Secretary of State, United States of America. 

Senor Polo's Passports. 

United States of America, Department of State. 

To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting : 

Know ye, that the bearer hereof, Don Luis Polo y Bernabe, Envoy Extraor- 
dinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Spain to the United States, accompanied 
by his family and suite, is about to travel abroad. 

These are therefore to request all officers of the United States or of any State 
thereof to permit him to pass freely without let or molestation, and to extend 
to him all friendly aid and protection in case of need. 

In testimony whereof, I, John Sherman, Secretary of State of the United States 
of America, have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Depart- 
ment of State to be affixed at Washington, this 20th day of April, A. D. 1898, . 
and of the Independence of the United States of America, the one hundred 
and twenty-second. 



THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 



3S9 



On the following day the Pope received from the Queen 
Regent of Spain : 

" I thank your holiness in my own name and that of the 
entire nation for your efforts in favor of peace, and I am 
all the more eager to make this expression of gratitude at 
this critical moment, when human passion and greed have 
gained the upper hand of the noble purposes of the vicar 
of Christ. If Providence has decreed to expose Spain to 
new trials, Spain is preparing with faith and tranquil con- 
science, aware that her sons will know how to die for her 
honor." The letter concluded with a request from her 
majesty that she may be fortified by the prayers of the 
Pontiff. 

The Official Gazette of Havana published on the 21st 
the manifesto following : 

The General Government of the Island of Cuba to the inhabitants of the 

Island of Cuba: 

Without any reason or legality, without the least offense on our part, and at 
a time when they have received from us only proofs of friendship, the United 
States are forcing us into war just at the moment when quietude began to settle 
over the country, when production was flourishing, commerce taking courage, 
and peace approaching, with the co-operation of all classes and all parties 
under the institutions granted by the mother country. 

Such a proceeding is without precedent in history. It evidently manifests 
the bogus politics of the republic, demonstrating the tricky plans and purposes 
that have always been nourished against Spain's sovereignty in Cuba, which 
the enemy has been conspiring for nearly a century to destroy. Our foes 
now carry their hypocrisy and falsehood to the extent of demanding immediate 
peace in a war provoked and sustained by themselves. Her prudence and 
moderation have been of no avail to Spain, though she has carried her con- 
cessions to the extreme limit of toleration in order to avoid a rupture. 

She still deplores this state of affairs, but she accepts it with all the energy 
inspired by a glorious national history and the pride of her people, a pride 
which will never yield to the stranger's haughtiness nor consent to see Spain's 
right and reason trampled upon by a nation of nobodies. If the United States 
want the Island of Cuba let them come and take it. Perhaps the hour is not 
far distant in which these Carthaginians of America will find their Zama in 
this Island of Cuba, which Spain discovered, peopled, and civilized, and which 
will never be anything but Spanish. 



^^o THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 

It is our turn to have the honor of defending her, and we will know how to 
do it with decision and an effort many a time put forth. I count upon you for 
this with absolute certainty. I believe there is no sacrifice you are not pre- 
pared to make in defense of the national territory, whose integrity is sacred to 
all Spaniards of whatever origin. I am sure that every one in whose veins 
runs Spanish blood will respond readily to the call which, in these solemn 
moments, I address to all, and that all will group themselves around me to 
contribute as much as they can to repel a foreign invasion, without allowing 
dangers, sufferings, or privations to weaken the heart of courage. 

To arms, then, fellow-countrymen, to arms ! There will be a place for all in 
the fight. Let all co-operate and contribute with the same firmness and en- 
thusiasm to fight the eternal enemy of the Spanish name, emulating the ex- 
ploits of our ancestors, who always exalted high their country's fame and 
honor. To arms ! Cry a thousand times " Viva Espana," " Viva El Rey 
Alfonso XIII," "Viva La Regente," "Viva Cuba, always Spanish.'' 

Your Governor General, Ramon Blanco. 

Havana, April 21, 1898. 

The President's Blockade Message. 

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America: 

I transmit to the Congress for its consideration and appropriate action 
copies of correspondence recently had with the representative of Spain in the 
United States, with the United States Minister at Madrid, and through the 
latter with the government of Spain, showing the action taken under the joint 
resolution approved April 20, 1898, " for the recognition of the independence 
of Cuba, demanding that the government of Spain relinquish its authority 
and government in the Island of Cuba, and withdraw its land and naval forces 
from Cuba and Cuban waters, and directing the President of the United States 
to use the land and naval forces of the United States to carry these resolutions 
into effect." 

Upon communicating to the Spanish Minister in Washington the demand 
which it became the duty of the Executive to address to the government of 
Spain, in obedience to said resolution, the Minister asked for his passports and 
withdrew. The United States Minister at Madrid was in turn notified by the 
Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs that the withdrawal of the Spanish repre- 
sentative from the United States had terminated diplomatic relations between 
the two countries, and that all official communications between the respective 
representatives ceased therewith. 

I commend to your special attention the note addressed to the United States 
Minister at Madrid by the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs on the 21st in- 
stant, whereby the foregoing notification was conveyed. It will be perceived 
therefrom that the government of Spain, having cognizance of the joint resolu- 
tion of the United States Congress, and in view of the things which the Presi- 
dent was thereby required and authorized to do, responds by treating the 



THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 391 

reasonable demands of this government as measures of hostility, followino- 
with that instant and complete severance of relations by its action which by 
the usage of nations accompanies an existent state of war between sovereign 
powers. 

The position of Spain being thus made known and the demands of the 
United States being denied with a complete rupture of intercourse by the act 
of Spain, I have been constrained in exercise of the power and authority con- 
ferred upon me by the joint resolution aforesaid to proclaim under date of 
April 22, 1898, a blockade of certain ports of the north coast of Cuba lying 
between Cardenas and Bahia Honda and of the port of Cienfuegos on the 
south coast of Cuba ; and, further, in exercise of my constitutional powers and 
using the authority conferred upon me by the act of Congress approved April 
22, 1898, to issue my proclamation, dated April 23, iSgS, calling forth volun- 
teers in order to carry into effect the said resolution of April 20, 1898. Copies 
of these proclamations are hereto appended. 

In view of the measures so taken, and with a view to the adoption of such 
other measures as may be necessary to enable me to carry out the expressed 
will of the Congress of the United States in the premises, I now recommend 
to your honorable body the adoption of a joint resolution declaring that a state 
of war exists between the United States of America and the kingdom of Spain, 
and I urge speedy action thereon to the end that the definition of the interna- 
tional status of the United States as a belligerent power may be made known 
and the assertion of all its rights and the maintenance of all its duties in the 
conduct of a public war may be assured. 

William McKinle\. 

Executive Mansion, Washington, April 25, 1898. 

Pre.sident's Proclamation of Blockade and Call for 

Troops. 
By the President. — A Proclamation. 

Whereas, by a joint resolution passed by the Congress and approved April 
20, 1898, and communicated to the government of Spain, it was demanded 
that said government at once relinquish its authority and government in the Island 
of Cuba, and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters ; 
and the President of the United States was directed and empowered to use the 
entire land and naval forces of the United States, and to call into the actual 
service of the United States the mihtia of the several States to such extent 
as might be necessary to carry said resolution into effect, and 

Whereas, in carrying into effect said resolution, the President of the United 
States deems it necessary to set on foot and maintain a blockade of the north 
coast of Cuba, including all ports on said coast between Cardenas and Bahia 
Honda and the port of Cienfuegos, on the south coast of Cuba, 

Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States, in 



THE CRISIS IN CLEAN AFFAIRS. 

order to enforce the said resolution, do hereby declare and proclaim that the 
United States of America have instituted and will maintain a blockade of the 
north coast of Cuba, including ports on said coast between Cardenas and Bahia 
Honda and the port of Cienfuegos on the south coast of Cuba, aforesaid, in 
pursuance of the laws of the United States and the law of nations applicable to 
such cases. 

An efficient force will be posted so as to prevent the entrance and exit of 
vessels from the ports aforesaid. Any neutral vessel approaching any of said 
ports, or attempting to leave the same, without notice or knowledge of the 
establishment of such blockade, will be duly warned by the commander of 
the blockading forces, who will endorse on her register the fact and the date 
of such warning where such endorsement was made, and if the same vessel 
shall again attempt to enter any blockaded port she will be captured and sent 
to the nearest convenient port for such proceedings against her and her cargo 
as prize as may be deemed advisable. 

Neutral vessels lying in any of said ports at the time of the establishment 0-1" 
such blockade will be allowed thirty days to issue therefrom. 

In witness thereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the 
United States to be affixed. 

Done at the city of Washington, this 22d of April, a. d. i8g8, and of the 
independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-second. 

William McKinley. 

By the President. 

John Sherman, Secretary of State. 

By the President of the United States. — A Proclamation. 

Whereas, a joint resolution of Congress was approved on the twentieth day 
of April, 1898, entitled, " Joint resolution for the recognition of the independ- 
ence of the people of Cuba, demanding that the government of Spain re- 
linquish its authority and government in the Island of Cuba, and to withdraw 
its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters, and directing the Pre- 
sident of the United States to use the land and naval forces of the United 
States to carry these resolutions into effect," and 

Whereas, by an act of Congress entitled, " An act to provide for temporarily 
increasing the mihtary establishment of the United States in time of war and 
for other purposes," approved April 22, 1898, the President is authorized, in 
order to raise a volunteer army, to issue his proclamation for volunteers to 
serve in the Army of the United States. 

Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States, by 
virtue of the power vested in me by the Constitution and the laws, and deem- 
ing sufficient occasion to exist, have thought fit to call forth, and hereby do 
call forth, volunteers to the aggregate number of 125,000, in order to carry into 
effect the purpose of the said resolution ; the same to be apportioned, as far as 
practicable, among the several States and Territories and the District of Co- 



THE CRISIS IN CUBAN AFFAIRS. 

393 

lumbia, according to population, and to serve for two years ; unless sooner dis- 
charged. The details for this object will be immediately communicated to the 
proper authorities, through the War Department. 

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the Seal of the 
United States to be affixed. 

Done at the City of Washington, this twenty-third day of April, a. d. 1898, and 
of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty- 
^^^°^^- William McKinley. 

By the President. 

John Sherman, Secretary of State. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE BATTLE OF MANILA. 

Commodore Dewey Receives Orders to Capture or Destroy the Spanish Fleet 
at Manila — Orders Immediately Carried Out — Spanish Squadron Anni- 
hilated — Manila, Capital of the Philippines, Blockaded — Thanks of the 
Nation Extended Through Congress to Commodore Dewey — His Pro- 
motion to Rank of Rear-Admiral — The Effect of Dewey's Victory in 
the Philippines — Their Future Ownership and the Anglo-American 
Alliance. 

The President's order through the Navy Department 
to make war upon the Spaniards in the PhiHppine Islands 
was cabled April 24th in these words : 

"Washington, April 24th, 1898. 
''Dewey, Hong Kong, China: 

" War has commenced between the United States and Spain. Proceed at 

once to Philippine Islands. Commence operations at once, particularly against 

the Spanish fleet. You must capture vessels or destroy them. Use utmost 

endeavors. Long." 

Dewey's report of his action appeared as follows : 

" Manila, May i. 
" The squadron arrived at Manila at daybreak this morning. Immediately 
engaged the enemy and destroyed the following Spanish vessels ; Reina Cris- 
tina, CastUla, Ulloa, Isla de Cuba, Don Juan de Austria, Isla de Luson, General 
Lezo, the Duero, Correo, Velascp, Mindanao, one transport and the water bat- 
tery atCavite. The squadron is uninjured, and only a iew men were slightly 
wounded. The only means of telegraphing is to the American consul at Hong- 
Kong. I shall communicate with him. Dewey." 

" Cavite, May 4. 

" I have taken possession of naval station at Cavite, on Philippine Islands. 
Have destroyed the fortifications at bay entrance, paroling garrison. I control 
bay completely, and can take city at any time. The squadron in excellent 
health and spirits. Spanish loss not fully known, but very heavy. 

"One hundred and fifty killed, including captain of Reina Cristina. I am 
assisting in protecting Spanish sick and wounded. Two hundred and fifty sick 
and wounded in hospital within our lines. Much excitement at .Manila. Will 
protect foreign residents. Dewey." 

394 



THE BATTLE OF MANILA. 3^^ 

The thanks of the President, speaking for the American 
people, took this form : 

" Washington, May 7. 
" Dewey, Manila : 

" The President, in the name of the American people, thanks you and your 

officers and men for your splendid achievement and overwhelming victory. In 

recognition he has appointed you Acting-Admiral, and will recommend a vote 

of thanks to you by Congress as a foundation for further promotion. 

Long." 

Perhaps the best summary account of the first victory of 
the arms of the United States in colUsion with those of 
Spain is contained in the President's message to Congress 
on the 9th of May : 

" To the Congress of the United States : 

"On the 24th of April I directed the Secretary of the Navy to telegraph orders 
to Commodore George Dewey, of the United States Navy, commanding the 
Asiatic Squadron, then lying in the port of Hong-Kong, to proceed forthwith to 
the Philippine Islands, there to commence operations and engage the assem- 
bled Spanish fleet. 

" Promptly obeying that order, the United States squadron, consisting of the 
flagship Olympia, Baltimore, Raleigh, Boston, Concord and Petrel, with the 
revenue cutter McCulloch as an auxiliary despatch boat, entered the harbor of 
Manila at daybreak on the ist of May and immediately engaged the entire 
Spanish fleet of eleven ships, which were under the protection of the fire of the 
land forts. After a stubborn fight, in which the enemy suffered great loss, these 
vessels were destroyed or completely disabled and the water battery at Cavite 
silenced. Of our brave officers and men not one was lost and only eight 
injured, and those slightly. All of our ships escaped any serious damage. 

" By the 4th of May Commodore Dewey had taken possession of the naval 
station at Cavite, destroying the fortifications there and at the entrance of the 
bay and paroling their garrisons. The waters of the bay are under his com- 
plete control. He has established hospitals within the American lines, where 
250 of the Spanish sick and wounded are assisted and protected. 

" The magnitude of this victory can hardly be measured by the ordinary 
standards of naval warfare. Outweighing any material advantage is the moral 
effect of this initial success. At this unsurpassed achievement the great heart 
of our nation throbs, not with boasting or with greed of conquest, but with deep 
gratitude that this triumph has come in a just cause, and that by the grace of 
God an effective step has thus been taken toward the attainment of the wished- 
for peace. To those whose skill, courage and devotion have won the fight, to 
the gallant commander and the brave officers and men who aided him, our 
country owes an incalculable debt. 



596 



THE BA TTLE OF MANILA. 



" Feeling as our people feel, and speaking in their name, I at once sent a 
message to Commodore Dewey, thanking him and his officers and men for 
their splendid achievement and overwhelming victory, and informing him that 
I had appointed him an acting rear admiral. 

" I now recommend that, following our national precedents and expressing 
the fervent gratitude of every patriotic heart, the thanks of Congress be given 
Acting Rear- Admiral George Dewey of the United States Navy for highly dis- 
tinguished conduct in conflict with the enemy, and to the officers and men under 
his command for their gallantry in the destruction of the enemy's fleet and the 
capture of the enemy's fortifications in the Bay of Manila. 

William McKinley." 

"Executive Mansion, May 9, 1898." 

Congress thanked Commodore Dewey and the officers 
and men of the squadron under his command, May 9th, by 
the unanimous adoption of this joint resohition ; 

" Resolved, By the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States 
of America in Congress assembled. That in pursuance of tlie recommendation 
of the President, made in accordance with the provisions of section 1,108 of 
the Revised Statutes, the thanks of Congress and of the American people are 
hereby tendered to Commodore George Dewey, U. S. N., commander-in-chief 
of the Asiatic station, for highly distinguished conduct in conflict with the 
enemy as displayed by him in the destruction of the Spanish fleet and batteries 
in the harljor of Manila, Philippine Islands, May i, 1898. 

Section 2. — That the thanks of Congress and the American people are 
hereby extended throu.;h Commodore Dewey to the officers and men under his 
command for the gallantry and skill exhibited by them on that occasion. 

Section 3. — Be it further resolved. That the President of the United States 
be requested to cause this resolution to be communicated to Commodore Dewey, 
and through him to the officers and men under his command." 

As the only cable touching Manila was in the hands of 
the Spaniards, we had the first intelligence of the battle 
from the enemy. The governor of the Philippines tele- 
graphed this report : 

Madrid, May i — 8 P. M. — The following is the text of the official despatch 
from the Governor-General of the Philippines to the Minister of War, Lieutenant 
General Correa, as to the engagement off Manila : 

" Last night, April 30th, the batteries at the entrance to the port announced 
the arrival of the enemy's squadron, forcing a passage under the obscurity of 
night. At daybreak the enemy took up positions, opening with a strong fire 
against Fort Cavite and the arsenal. 



THE BATTLE OF MANILA. 3^^ 

"Our fleet engaged the enemy in a brilliant combat, protected by the Cavite 
and Manila forts. They obliged the enemy, with heavy loss, to manoeuvre 
repeatedly. At 9 o'clock the American squadron took refuge behind the foreign 
merchant shipping, on the east side of the bay. 

" Our fleet, considering the enemy's superiority, naturally suffered a severe 
loss. The Maria Cristina is on fire, and another ship, believed to be the Don 
Juan de Austria, was blown up. 

" There was considerable loss of life. Captain Cardzo, commanding the 
Maria Cristina, is among the killed. I cannot now give further details. The 
spirit of the army, navy and volunteers is excellent. 

Midnight. — An official telegram, received at a late hour from the Governor- 
General of the Philippines, says : " Admiral Montejo has transferred his flag to 
the cruiser Isla de Cuba from the cruiser y?£'/;/<j Maria Cristina. 

The Reina Maria Cristina was completely burned, as was also the cruiser 
Castilla, the other ships having to retire from the combat, and some being sunk 
to avoid their falling into the hands of the enemy." 

The exaggerated but substantially fair celebration of the 
bravery of the Spaniards, in the despatches of the governor, 
did not in the least conceal the general fact that the Spanish 
squadron was destroyed, or obscure the splendor of the 
American victory. The triumph of our fleet was clearly, even 
according to the Spanish version, one of the most remark- 
able in the history of combats for the command of the seas. 
By universal acclaim the glory of Dewey was associated 
with that of Farragut and Nelson. The Copenhagen com- 
bat of Nelson while on a larger scale than the fight at 
Manila, was under conditions closely resembling the 
adventurous offensive of Dewey, though only partially 
successful. The battles of the Nile and Trafalgar were 
tremendous British victories, but the defeated fleets were 
not absolutely destroyed in either case. Farragut dis- 
played address and daring in his remarkable achievements 
at New Orleans and Mobile, but his losses were severe 
both in men and ships. The good fortune of Admiral 
Dewey was almost unexampled. The highest faculties are 
shown in his handling of those wonderful fighting machines 

— modern men-of-war — in which engineering capacity has 
23 



^oo THE BATTLE OF MANILA. 

been reputed to exceed, in the command of essentials, 
all the excellencies of seamanship. — The American com- 
mander at Manila was completely competent both as sea- 
man and engineer, and was as facile in adroit manoeu- 
vers as dashing in assault and expert in management. 
Every man under the flag of the stars did his duty, and 
the marksmanship with our high power artillery was as 
perfect as that of the western riflemen at the battle of New 
Orleans. As Dewey could not control the cable he cut it 
and stopped the Spanish stories, so that there was a week of 
reserve and suspense, during which the American people 
brooded over the loss of life that it seemed certain their 
glory had cost them. It was strange to have been assured 
of complete success by the Spaniards and then painful to 
work upon the problem of probabilities in the dark silence 
that seemed sinister ; and the air was charged with appre- 
hensive rumor when the white light of the whole battle 
came from the East. 

The " Washington Post" sketches a scene that will share 
in the enduring interest of the battle story. 

" Assistant Secretary of State Cridler was asleep in his 
cot in the State Department when the watchman at the de- 
partment rudely awakened and handed him a yellow en- 
velope. He rubbed his eyes, tore open the envelope, and 
found within a cablegram. It read: 

' Hongkong, May 7, 
" Day, Washington. 

" McCulloch. " WiLDMAN •■ 

"It took but an instant for Mr. Cridler to realize that the 
little slip of paper which he held in his hand meant that 
communication between Manila and the outside world had 
been restored and that news from Commodore Dewey 
would soon follow. Instantly he notified the navy officials 



THE BA TTLE OF MANILA. ^oj 

and they gathered prompdy at the department. It was 
nearly lo o'clock, however, when Manager Marean, of the 
Western Union Telegraph Company, appeared widi the 
sheets covered with combinations of strange words, bear- 
ing the Hong-Kong date. Unable to read it, Secretary 
Long at once turned it over to the cipher experts of the 
Navigation Bureau, who withdrew into their office and 
wisely locked the door. It was nearly 10.30 before Secre- 
tary Long, holding a copy of the despatch in his hand, ap- 
peared in the large reception room outside of his private 
office and proceeded to read to the assembled crowd the 
brief account which Commodore Dewey had forwarded. 

"Assistant Secretary Roosevelt illustrated the engage- 
ment in his own manner. ' I saw a prize-fight once,' said 
he, where one man hit the other under the jaw as quick as 
lightning, and the fight was over in nine seconds. The 
man who was hit fell before he had seen his opponent raise 
an arm. Dewey must have made the same sort of a fight' " 

The details show the mighty magic of staunch ships 
manned with heroes, armed with guns wrought in tubes 
and carriages by matchless American mechanics, and arms 
of long range, smashing power and exquisite precision, 
aimed by trained and composed men who could " work 
logarithms under fire," and as each bolt was launched with 
lightning and thunder on its deadly errand, remembered 
the Maine forty-six days before. 

The good fortune of Admiral Dewey at Manila included 
the presence of a historian, who had the grit to stand on 
the bridofe with the commander himself. We refer to the 
correspondent of the Neiv York Herald, Mr. Joseph L. 
Stickney, formerly a naval officer. We present Mr. Stick- 
ney's Herald despatches, cabled from Hong-Kong, and 
worthy the occasion. 



402 THE BATTLE OF MANILA, 

" Manila, Philippine Islands, on Board the Flagship Olynipia, May ist {via 
Hong Kong, May yth). — Not one Spanish flag flies in Manila Bay to-day. Not 
one Spanish warship floats except as our prize. 

" More than 200 Spanish dead and 500 to 700 wounded attest to the accuracy 
of the American fire. 

" Commodore Dewey attacked the Spanish position at Cavite this morning. 
He swept five times along the line and scored one of the most briUiant suc- 
cesses in modern warfare. 

" That our loss is trifling adds to the pleasure of victory without detracting 
from its value. The number of hits our vessels received proved how brave and 
stubborn was the defence made by the Spanish forces. 

" Miraculous as it may appear, none of our men were killed and only eight 
were wounded. Those who were wounded suffered only slight injuries. 

" It was just 8 o'clock, a bright moonlight night, when the flagship passed Cor- 
regidor Island without a sign being given that the Spaniards were aware of its 
approach. 

"Not until the flagship was a mile beyond Corregidor was a gun fired. 
Then one heavy shot went screaming over the Raleigh and the Olympia, fol- 
lowed by a second, which fell far astern. 

" The Raleigh, the Concord and the Boston replied. The Concord's shells 
exploding, apparently, exactly inside the shore battery, which fired no more. 
Our squadron slowed down to barely steerage way and the men were allowed 
to sleep alongside their guns. 

" Commodore Dewey had timed our arrival so that we were within five miles 
of the city of Manila at daybreak. 

''We then sighted the Spanish squadron, Rear-Admiral Montejo, command- 
ing, off Cavite (pronounced Kahveetay, Avith accent on the ' vee'). Here the 
Spaniards had a well-equipped navy yard called Cavite arsenal. 

"Admiral Montejo's flag was flying on the 3,500 ton protected cruiser Reina 
Crist na. The protected cruiser Castilla, of 3,200 tons, was moored ahead, and 
astern to the port battery, and to seaward were the cruisers Don Juati de Aus- 
tria, Don Antonio de Ulloa, Isla de Cuba, Isla de Luzon, Quiros, Marquis del 
Duero and General Lezo. These ships and the flagship remained under way 
during most of the action. 

" With the United States flag flying at all their mastheads, our ships moved 
to the attack in line ahead, with a speed of eight knots, first passing in front of 
Manila, where the action was begun by three batteries mounting guns powerful 
enough to send a shell over us at a distance of five miles. 

" The Concord's guns boomed out a reply to these batteries with two shots. 
No more were fired, because Commodore Dewey could not engage with these 
batteries without sending death and destruction into the crowded city. 

"As we neared Cavite two very powerful submarine mines were exploded 
ahead of the flagship. This was at six minutes past 5 o'clock. 

"The Spaniards evidently had misjudged our position. Immense volumes 



THE BATTLE OF MANILA. 



403 



of water were thrown high in the air by these destroyers, but no harm was done 
to our ships. 

" Commodore Dewey had fought with Farragut at New Orleans and Mobile 
Bay, where he had his first experience with torpedoes. Not knowing how 
many more mines there might be ahead, he still kept on without faltering. No 
other mines exploded, however, and it is believed that the Spaniards had only 
these two in place. 

" Only a few minutes later the shore battery at Cavite point sent over the 
flagship a shot that nearly hit the battery in Manila, but soon the guns got a 
better range and the shells began to strike near us or burst close aboard from 
both the batteries and the Spanish vessels. 

" The heat was intense. Men stripped off all clothing except their trousers. 

"As the Olympia drew nearer all was as silent on board as if the ship had 
been empty, except for the whir of the blowers and the throb of the engines. 

" Suddenly a shell burst directly over us. 

" From the boatswain's mate at the after five-inch gun came a hoarse cry. 
' Remember the Maifie ! ' arose from the throats of 500 men at the guns. 

" This watchword was caught up in turrets and fire rooms, wherever seaman 
or fireman stood at his post. 

" ' Remember the Maine ! ' had rung out for defiance and revenge. Its 
utterance seemed unpremeditated, but was evidently in every man's mind, and 
now that the moment had come to make adequate reply to the killing of the 
Maine's crev/ every man shouted what was in his heart. 

" The Olympia was now ready to begin the fight. 

" Commodore Dewey, his chief of staff, Commander Lamberton, an aid and 
myself, with Executi veOfficer Lieutenant Rees and Navigator Lieutenant Calkins, 
who conned ship most admirably, were on the forward bridge. Captain Grid- 
ley was in the conning tower, as it was thought unsafe to risk losing all the 
senior officers by one shell. 

'' ' You may fire when ready, Gridley,' said the Commodore, and at nineteen 
minutes of 6 o'clock, at a distance of 5,500 yards, the starboard eight-inch gun 
in the forward turret roared forth a compliment to the Spanish forts. Presently 
similar guns from the Baltimore and the Boston sent 250-pound shells toward 
the Castilla and the Rei7ia Cristina for accuracy. 

" The Spaniards seemed encouraged to fire faster, knowing exactly our dis- 
tance, while we had to guess theirs. Their ship and shore guns were making 
things hot for us. 

" The piercing scream of shot was varied often by the bursting of time-fuse 
shells, fragments of which would lash the water like shrapnel or cut our hull 
and rigging. 

"One large shell that was coming straight at the Olympia s forward bridge 
fortunately fell within less than 100 feet away. A fragment cut the rigging 
exactly over the heads of Lamberton, Rees and myself. 

" Another struck the bridge gratings in line with it, A third passed just 



404 THE BATTLE OF MANILA. 

under Commodore Dewey and gouged a hole in the deck. Incidents like these 
were plentiful. 

" Our men naturally chafed at being exposed without returning fire from all 
our guns, but laughed at danger and chatted good-humoredly. A few nervous 
fellows could not help dodging mechanically when shells would burst right over 
them or close aboard, or would strike the water and pass overhead, with the 
peculiar spluttering roar made by a tumbling rifled projectile. 

" Still the flagship steered for the centre of the Spanish line, and, as our other 
ships were astern, the Olympia received most of the Spaniards' attention. 

" Owing to our deep draught, Commodore Dewey felt constrained to change 
his course at a distance of 4,000 yards and run parallel to the Spanish column. 
' Open with all guns,' he said, and the ship brought her port broadside bearing. 

" The roar of the flagship's five-inch rapid-firers was followed by a deep 
diapason of her after turret eight-inchers. Soon our other vessels were equally 
hard at work, and we could see that our shells were making Cavite harbor hot- 
ter for the Spaniards than they had made the approach for us. 

" Protected by their shore batteries and made safe from close attack by shal- 
low water, the Spaniards were in a strong position. They put up a gallant 
fight. The Spanish ships were sailing back and forth behind the Castilla, and 
their fire, too, was hot. 

" One shot struck the Baltimore and passed clear through her, fortunately 
hitting no one. Another ripped up her main deck, disabled a six-inch gun and 
exploded a box of three-pounder ammunition, wounding eight men. 

" The Olyftipia was struck abreast the gun in the ward room by a shell which 
burst outside, doing little damage. 

" The signal halyards were cut from Lieutenant Brumby's hand on the after 
bridge. A shell entered the Boston^s port quarter and burst in Ensign Dod- 
ridge's state room, starting a hot fire, and fire was also caused by a shell which 
burst in the port hammock netting. Both these fires were quickly put out. 

" Another shell passed through the Boston's foremast just in front of Captain 
Wildes, on the bridge. 

"After having made four runs along the Spanish line, finding the chart 
incorrect, Lieutenant Calkin's, the 0/ymptas navigator, told the Commodore 
he believed he could take the ship nearer the enemy, with a lead going to watch 
the depth of water. The flagship started over the course for the fifth time, 
running within 2,000 yards of the Spanish vessels. 

" At this range even six-pounders were effective, and the storm of shells 
poured upon the unfortunate Spanish began to show marked results. 

"Three of the enemy's vessels were seen burning and their fire slackened. 

" On finishing this run Commodore Dewey decided to give the men break- 
fast, as they had been at the guns two hours, with only one cup of coffee to 
sustain them. Action ceased temporarily at twenty-five minutes of 8 o'clock, 
the other ships passing the flagship and cheering lustily. 

"Our ships remained beyond range of the enemy's guns until ten minutes of 



THE BATTLE OF MANILA. 



405 



1 1 o'clock, when the signal for close action again went up. The Baltimore had 
the place of honor in the lead, with the flagship following and the other ships 
as before. 

"The Baltimore began firing at the Spanish ships and batteries at sixteen 
minutes past 1 1 o'clock, making a series of hits as if at target practice. The 
Spaniards replied slowly, and the Commodore signaled the Raleigh, the Bos- 
ton, the Concord and the Petrel to go into the inner harbor and destroy all the 
enemy's ships. 

"By her light draught the little iV/ri?/ was enabled to move within 1,000 
yards. Here, firing swiftly but accurately, she commanded everything still fly- 
ing the Spanish flag. 

"Other ships were also doing their whole duty, and soon not one red and 
yellow ensign remained aloft, except on a battery up the coast. The Spanish 
flagship and the Castilla had long been burning fiercely, and the last vessel to 
be abandoned was the Don Antonio de Ulloa, which lurched over and sank. 

"Then the Spanish flag on the arsenal staff was hauled down, and at half- 
past 12 o'clock a white flag was hoisted there. Signal was made to the 
Petrel to destroy all the vessels in the inner harbor, and Lieutenant Hughes, 
with an armed boat's crew, set fire to the Do7i Juan de Austria, Marquis 
Duero, the Isla de Cuba and the Correo. 

" The large transport Manila and many tugboats and small craft fell into 
our hands. 

" ' Capture or destroy Spanish squadron,' were Dewey's orders. Never were 
instructions more effectually carried out. Within seven hours after arriving on 
the scene of action nothing remained to be done." 

Supplementary to the original report, Mr. Stickney fur- 
nished the following details, painting the glorious historical 
picture for immortality. 

"Hong-Kong, Sunday.— Early in the morning of Monday, the day after 
the battle in Manila Bay, Commander Lamberton and myself were ordered to 
go to the Cavite arsenal and take possession. 

" The Petrel took us within 500 yards of the landing, when we were surprised 
to see that the arsenal was still occupied by about 800 seamen, armed with 
Mauser magazine rifles. 

" As a white flag had been hoisted on the arsenal the day before, Com- 
mander Lamberton could not understand what the Spaniards intended to do, 
and before leaving the Petrel he ordered Commander Wood to keep his men at 
the guns with directions that if we were not back in one hour he should open 
fire on the arsenal. 

" On landing we were met by Captain Sostoa of the Spanish navy, next in 
rank at this station to Admiral Montejo, who had been wounded and conveyed 
to Manila. 



4o6 THE BATTLE OF MANILA. 

" Commander Lamberton, Lieutenant Wood of the Petrel and myself went 
with Captain Sostoa to the arsenal headquarters, which was at once surrounded 
by an armed guard, 

" Commander Lamberton told Captain Sostoa that he was surprised to se* 
his men under arms, after they had surrendered the day before. 

" Captain Sostoa replied that they had not surrendered, but had merely 
hoisted the white flag in order to enable them to remove women and children 
to places of safety. 

" Commander Lamberton said that when the Spanish flag came down and 
the white flag went up no other interpretation could be put upon it than that it 
was an unconditional suriender, and the women and children ought not to 
have been there anyhow. 

" Captain Sostoa remarked that we came so early in the day they had no 
time to remove them. If we had not begun the fight so soon the women would 
have been out of the way. 

" Commander Lamberton reminded him that the Spaniards had fired the 
first shot. However, he added, he was not there to discuss past events. He 
had come, as Commodore Dewey's representative, to take possession of the 
arsenal. All Spaniards there, he said, must surrender their arms and persons 
as prisoners of war, otherwise our ships would open fire on them. 

** Then Captain Sostoa said he could do nothing, not being in command, and 
would have to consult his superiors. 

" Commander Lamberton refused to recognize any one but the senior officer 
actually present, who, he said, must comply with Commodore Dewey's con- 
ditions, 

" Captain Sostoa asked to have the terms of surrender put down in writing, 
which was done, these being the conditions : 

" Without further delay all Spanish officers and men must be withdrawn, and 
no buildings or stores must be injured. As Commodore Dewey does not wish 
further hostility with the Spanish naval forces, the Spanish officers will be 
paroled, and the forces at the arsenal will deliver all their small arms. 

" Captain Sostoa then pleaded for more time. The talk had all been in 
Spanish, and the time when Commander Wood was to open fire was already 
nearly up. Consequently, Commander Lamberton gave the Spaniards two 
hours' time. 

" If the white flag was not rehoisted over the arsenal at noon, he said, we 
should re-open fire. 

" We returned to the Petrel just in time and started back across the bay to 
report to the commodore. 

" At a quarter to 1 1 o'clock the white flag was hoisted, but when we went to 
take possession of the arsenal in the afternoon we found that every seaman had 
marched off" to Manila, carrying his Mauser rifle with him. 

" Having learned that evening that the governor of Manila had refused to let 
the cable company transmit our messages, Commodore Dewey sent the mer- 



THE BATTLE OF MANILA. 407 

chant steamer Zafiro a short distance down the bay and had her cut the 
cable. 

" Having no instruments for working a cable, we could not keep up com- 
munication, and the governor would not let the cable company send its opera- 
tors to our ships. 

" No one can complain that Commodore Dewey has been slow in finishing off 
his work, but he would have done it even sooner but for an accident to one of 
the Raleigh's pumps, which detained him in Mirs Bay two days, and also the 
slow speed of which transport vessels are capable. 

" But for these delays the Spanish ships would have been destroyed on Thurs- 
day, instead of Sunday, as in all other respects Commodore Dewey's plans 
were complete. 

" During the passage of the forts at the entrance of Manila Bay on Saturday 
night Frank B. Randall, chief engineer of the revenue cutter McCuiloch, died 
suddenly from heat and prostration. He was buried at sea the next day. 

" Although the McCidloch was of no value as a fighting machine Commodore 
Dewey several times made use of her to overhaul sailing craft. 

" She kept at a safe distance from the scene of action on Sunday, but went 
down the bay to meet the English merchant steamer Esmeralda, which was 
coming in, and made an excellent record for speed as a despatch boat while 
bringing us over to Hong-Kong on Thursday. 

" As soon as the natives ashore learned that the Spaniards had been driven 
out of Cavite they began coming in crowds to pillage. Finally, they became so 
bold as to attack the hospital, and it was necessary either to send a guard of 
American seamen to protect the wounded or transfer them to Manila. The 
latter was done on Wednesday, Commodore Dewey utilizing captured steamers 
for this duty. 

" All the houses of Spaniards in the town of San Roque, near Cavite, were 
absolutely gutted by the natives, who even ventured into the arsenal and 
carried off many boat-loads of furniture and stores before the marine guard was 
posted at the gates. 

" The Spanish defeat was advertised for miles away by the ships burning in 
Cavite Bay. The Castilla, which was set on fire in Sunday morning's battle, 
was a magnificent mass of flames twelve hours later, and continued to burn all 
night, with brilHant intensity. 

" I boarded the Don Juan de Austria, Isla de Luzon and Marquis del Duero 
while they were still burning. I found them fitted up with fine Canet rapid-fire 
guns and most of the modern improvements. 

" I did not discover until after we had spent the afternoon in their vicinity 
that all their large guns had been left loaded with powder and shell, making 
them peculiarly dangerous to small boats. 

" The guns generally laid level just above the surface of the water. As several 
of them were pointed at the arsenal, their charges were first drawn, then 
* drowned,' as the fire might reach them at any moment. 



4o8 



THE BATTLE OF MANILA. 



" When our ships drew away for breakfast on Sunday morning the temper of 
the men was well illustrated by the almost tearful appeal of one gun captain to 
Commander Lamberton : 

"'For God's sake, captain, don't stop now! Let's finish 'em up right off. 
To hell with breakfast ! ' 

" ' Old Purdy,' a privileged petty officer, because he has served in the navy 
or army nearly fifty years, was greeted by the commodore on Saturday, when 
the old man ' shifted his quid ' and said : 

" ' I hope you won't fight on the third of May, commodore.' 

"'Why not?' asked Commodore Dewey. 

" ' Well, you see,' the old man answered, ' 1 got licked last time 1 fought on 
that date.' 

" Purdy had been with Hooker at Chancellorsville, and he did not like that 
anniversary. 

" All our men suffered greatly from the heat during the action, for they were 
shut up below, with furnaces blazing and the tropical sun pouring down its heat 
rays. Probably several of the men would have succumbed but for the excite- 
ment of battle. 

" Eighty Spanish bodies were found unburied on Monday night, and we gave 
them burial on Tuesday morning, calling in a Roman Catholic priest to read 
the burial service over their remains. 

" The bodies presented a horrible sight. One had the head almost wholly 
carried away. Another had been struck in the stomach by a large projectile, 
cutting everything away to the backbone. 

" One very large man, apparently an officer, was not only mangled, but 
burned, and all the bodies were frightfully bloated. 

" To add to the horror of the scene several lean wolf-like dogs had discovered 
the bodies before we had. 

" Probably there are nowhere a more interested or more thoroughly happy 
set of persons than the group of wives of American naval officers who have 
been living in Hong Kong in order to be near their husbands. 

"Having heard little news, except alarming rumors, since the squadron left 
here, they are now recovering their normal serenity, with the certainty that their 
husbands are safe. There are about a dozen of these officers' wives forming a 
little navy colony here. 

"The more I recall the events of last Sunday's battle at Manila, the more 
miraculous it seems that no American lost his life. 

"The shell that entered the Boston's ward-room was going straight for Pay- 
master Martin, when it exploded within five feet of him, yet he was not touched. 

"Aboard the Olympia the surgeon's operating table was placed in the ward- 
room. Chaplain Frazier, who was assisting the surgeon, had his head out of 
one of the six-pounder gun ports, when a shell struck the ship's side, less than 
a yard away. The chaplain pulled his head in just in time to escape having it 
blown off, as the shell instantly burst. 



THE BATTLE OF MANILA. 



409 



"Three fragments of one shell struck the Olympia within a radius of fifteen 
feet from Commodore Dewey. 

" The armor piercing projectile that exploded the box of three-pounder 
ammunition on board the Ba/tii/iore passed between two groups of men, so close 
to both that it is difficult to see how all escaped. 

" If the Spaniards had properly prepared for our coming they would have 
killed many of our men, but they had not intended to make their fight at 
Cavite. 

"Among other official papers captured in Admiral Montejo's office was his 
acknowledgment of the receipt of the decision of the council of war officers to 
mass his guns and ships at Subig Bay, where much better conditions for defence 
existed. This was prevented only by Commodore Dewey's prompt action. A 
few days would have sufficed to remove all their guns and ships to Subig Bay, 
where there is a narrow entrance and the water is shoal, and a plunging fire 
from the shore would have made victory very difficult for us to attain. 

" As I have already stated, after the destruction of the enemy's ships and 
fortifications and the battle was over. Commodore Dewey anchored the fleet off 
the city of Manila and sent word to Governor-General Augusd that the port of 
Manila was now blockaded. 

" With this notice went the plainly worded warning that if a single shot were 
fired at any ship of the American fleet from Manila the city would be laid in 
ashes. 

"Commodore Dewey also made a demand for the use of the cable from 
Manila to Hong Kong No reply to this demand was received, and the cable 
was cut on Monday. 

" Never in the history of battles on sea or land has there been a more com- 
plete clearing out of an enemy of equal or superior force achieved with so httle 
harm to the victors. 

"Not one American was killed. After the battle every American ship was 
ready to fight another similar action immediately. 

" This complete victory was the product of forethought, cool, well-balanced 
judgment, discipline and bravery. 

"The position taken by the Spaniards, coupled with their heavy guns 
mounted on shore, gave them an enormous advantage. Only our good luck or 
the bad aim of the Spanish gunners saved us from a terrible loss of fife. 

" Where every vessel in the American fleet proved itself so efficient I cannot 
draw distinctions, but when the ships passed each other, close aboard after the 
action was over, the heartiest cheers heard after those for the commodore were 
given to the little gunboat Petrel. 

" During the first hour of the fight a Spanish torpeao boat was seen sneaking 
along shore ahead of the Olvmpia. Suddenly this torpedo boat turned and 
made a quick and plucky dash at the flagship. 

" The commander of that Spanish craft must have been ignorant of the power 
of modern guns or utterly indifferent to death. 



4IO THE BA TTLE OF MANILA. 

"Not until she had been twice hit by shots from the Oljmpia's secondary 
battery did the daring httle boat turn back. She reached the beach just in time 
to save her crew from drowning. 

" Two other Spanish torpedo boats made more cautious attempts to come out 
into the harbor to attack us, but one was immediately sunk by our fire and the 
other quickly abandoned the attack.'' 

The wounded were : Lieutenant, Frank Woodruff Kel- 
logg ; Ensign, Noble Edward Irwin ; Coxswains, Michael 
John Buddinger, Edward Snelgrove ; Robert L. Barlow, 
landsman ; Richard P. Covert, William O'Keefe, Rosario 
Ricciarddelli, seamen. 

The squadrons engaged were : 

SPANISH. 

Reina Christina, steel cruiser; displacement, 3,520; armament, six 6.2, two 
2.7, three 2.2, two 1.5, six 3-pounders, two machine; torpedo tubes, 5; speed, 
17.5; complement, 370. 

Castilla, wood cruiser; displacement, 3,342; armament, four 5.9, two 4.7, two 
3.3, four 2.9, eight R. F., two machine; torpedo tubes, 2; speed, 14.0; com- 
plement, 300. 

Don Antonio de Ulloa, iron cruiser; displacement, 1,130; armament, four 4.7, 
three 2.2, two 1.5, five machine; torpedo tubes, 2; speed, 14.0; complement, 130. 

Isla de Cuba, steel cruiser; displacement, 1,030; armament, four 4.7, four 
6-pounders, two 3-pounders; two machine; torpedo tubes, 3; speed, 16.0 
complement, 160. 

General Lezo, iron gunboat; displacement, 524; armament, two 4.7, one 3.5, 
two R. F., one machine; torpedo tubes, 2; speed, ii.o; complement, 100. 

Marques del Duero, iron dispatch vessel; displacement, 590; armament, 
one 6.2 two 4.7, one machine; speed, lo.o; complement, 100. 

Elcano, iron gunboat; displacement, 524: armament, three 4.7, two R. F., 
two machine; torpedo tubes, i; speed, 11.5; complement, 116. 

Velasco, iron cruiser; displacement, 1,152; armament, three 5.9, two 2.7, two 
machine; speed, 14.3; complement, 173. 

Mindanao, iron transport; displacement, 4,195 gross tons. 

AMERICAN. 

The United States fleet was composed of the following vessels: 
Olympia, steel cruiser; displacement, 5,800; armament, four 8, ten 5, four- 
teen 6-pounders, six i -pounders, four machine; torpedo tubes, 6; speed, 21.6; 
complement, 412. 

Baltimore, steel cruiser; displacement, 4,600; armament, four 8, six 6, four 
6pounders, two 3-pounders, two i-pounders, 6 machine; torpedo tubes, 5; 
speed, 20.6; complement, 375. 



THE BATTLE OF MANILA. 41 1 

Raleigh, steel cruiser; displacement, 3,183; armament, one 6, ten 5, eight 
6-pounders, four i -pounders, two machine; torpedo tubes, i; speed, 19.0; com- 
plement, 312. 

Boston, steel cruiser; displacement, 3,189; armament, two 8, six 6, two 6- 
pounders, two 3pounders, six machine; speed, 15.0; complement, 270. 

Petrel, steel gunboat; displacement, 890; armament, four 6, two 3-pounders, 
one i-pounder, four machine; speed, 13.7; complement, 132, 

McCidloch, steel revenue cutter; displacement, 2,000; four 6-pounders; 
complement, loo. 

Comparison of the two fleets shows that Admiral Dewey, 
with about 19,500 tons displacement of American war ships, 
annihilated about 12,000 tons displacement of Spanish war 
ships. The total number of guns mounted on board the 
United States ships was 120. On board the Spanish ships 
there were 94 guns. The number of men on board the 
former was about 1,600; on the latter, about 1,300. 

In neither squadron was there an armored ship, but all 
of the United States vessels had more or less protection 
from their steel decks, while only two of the Spanish vessels 
had protective decks. 

Except in number of vessels the United States squadron 
was the superior of the Spanish squadron ; yet every one 
of Admiral Dewey's ships was penetrable by the guns of 
the Spanish ships had the gunners of the latter been able 
to point their pieces properly. The largest guns mounted 
on board the American ships were 8-inch, of which there 
were ten. Spain had no larger calibre afloat than 6-inch. 

dewey's diary. 

Monday, April 2^. — Received news of the declaration of 
war. Quitted British waters. 

Wednesday. — Sailed for Manila at the fastest speed that 
could be made with the coal supply of the ships. 

Saturday iVz^///f.— Passed the batteries at the entrance 
of Manila Bay. 



412 THE BATTLE OF MANILA. 

Sunday. — Sank, burned or captured all the ships of the 
Spanish squadron. Silenced and destroyed three batteries. 

Monday. — Occupied navy yard. Blew up six batteries 
at the entrance to the bay. Cut the cable. Established 
blockade of Manila. Drove the Spanish forces out of 
Cavite. 

Tuesday and Wednesday. — Swept the lower bay and en- 
trance for torpedoes. Gave crews well-earned rest. Pre- 
pared official despatches. 

An official despatch from General Augusti, Governor- 
General of the Philippines, sent by the way of Labuan, said : 

"The enemy seized Cavite and the arsenal owing to the 
destruction of the Spanish squadron, and established a close 
blockade. It is said that, at the request of the consuls, the 
enemy will not bombard Manila for the present, provided I 
do not open fire upon the enemy's squadron, which is out 
of range of our guns. Therefore I cannot fire until they 
come nearer. 

" A thousand sailors arrived here yesterday evening from 
our destroyed squadron, the losses of which number 6i8." 

Senor Sagasta, Prime Minister of Spain, said to a 
Journal correspondent, "The unfortunate events which 
have just taken place at Manila have saddened all Span- 
iards, but have not made them lose heart, and we feel con- 
solation in these days of mourning in thinking that our 
sailors did their duty valiantly, and succumbed only before 
the great superiority of the hostile fleet. 

" After behaving so heroically we can say with confidence 
that in this disaster nothing occurred to wound our pride. 
I, myself, had much satisfaction in publicly rendering tribute 
to the commander of the Rei7ia Cristi?ta and the other he- 
roes who met death in this unequal combat, giving their 
lives for the honor of Spain. 



THE BA TTLE OF MANILA. 



413 



^' Much has been said regarding die causes of the 
catastrophe, but all discussion has been beside the question. 
The truth is that we were too few, that we were over- 
whelmed by the great superiority of the enemy's forces, and 
by the fortunes of war, which unhappily went against us." 

The World interviewed and cabled an interview with 
Sir Charles Dilke, who was asked whether any question of 
international law or practice affected the United States' 
right to retain the Philippines ? He said : 

" None whatever. The States will hold the Philippines 
by the right of conquest. No power or powers will have 
the slightest tide to interfere." 

" But may not some power, Germany or France, for in- 
stance, bring pressure to bear on the United States to sur- 
render them ? " 

"That idea of continental pressure I regard as all moon- 
shine. No power would attempt pressure unless we were 
in the same boat with them, which we never will be. With- 
out English naval support no power will venture upon any 
action in the matter." 

" Do you consider that the United States should retain 
possession of the Philippines ? " 

" Certainly I do. The only alternatives are some kind 
of autonomous republican government, which would need 
so much American protecdon that the United States might 
as well hold the islands themselves. Then there is handing 
them over to Japan ; but that would excite the opposition 
of public sendment in the United States, Japan being a 
pagan nation. Another alternative is returning them to 
Spain. But that, too, would excite serious opposition in 
the United States, and may be dismissed as out of the ques- 
tion. It is true that at the end of the great war with 
France we gave back all or nearly all the territory we con- 



414 THE BATTLE OF MANILA. 

quered, but that is not a parallel case, as we were ostensibly 
fighting for the king of France." 

"Would the United States have to keep a large force of 
troops in the Philippines ? " 

"Considerable force would be required, and, of course, 
the United States would be compelled to largely increase 
her navy." 

" Do you think the general effect of the United States' 
retention of the Philippines would be to bring nearer the 
possibility of an Anglo-American alliance ? " 

" It would increase their interests in common, but I don't 
wish to say anything about the alliance idea, as I don't 
believe there ever will be an alliance between Great Britain 
and the United States." 

Sir Henry Howarth, M. P., a leading authority on foreign 
politics and international law, said : 

" I have no hesitation in saying that the United States 
have a perfect right to keep the Philippines, and, under the 
circumstances, it would be both wise and proper for the 
United States to keep them. There is not a consideration 
of international law that could in any way fetter the United 
States in its absolute discretion in the matter. There is no 
third party involved. The islands were discovered by 
Spain, and her sovereignty has never been in dispute. By the 
right of conquest, therefore, America's position is indisput- 
able, and all the members of Parliament, who are authorities, 
to whom I have spoken agree that the United States should 
not give them up. Spain found it impossible to govern 
them in the past, and would find the difficulty still greater 
in the future. If they were handed over to England it 
would provoke a multitude of difficult questions. If Japan 
got them it would also provoke great jealousies. Should 
the United States annex Hawaii together with the Philip- 




THE U. S. ARMORED CRUISER "BROOKLYN." 



THE BATTLE OF MANILA. .j- 

pines these would constitute two magnificent bases, giving 
the United States immense power in the Pacific, which I 
always hoped they would achieve in the interests of civili- 
zation and commerce." 

The American casualty list was eight men wounded, and 
the official Spanish report was six hundred and eighteen 
killed and wounded. The American figures of Spanish 
loss was twelve hundred killed and wounded, and the esti- 
mate is that between one hundred and fifty and two hundred 
were killed. The damage to American ships was about 
$5,000; Spanish property destroyed or captured $6,000,000. 
The Spanish naval force was larger and its equipment more 
modern and effective than at first appeared. If the land 
batteries of the Spaniards had been well served the odds 
would have been against the Americans. The Spanish 
allowed themselves to be surprised, so that they lost the 
advantages of position and shore support. Then they were 
out-manoeuvred and beaten in the use of big guns as arms 
of precision. There is lack of dignity in talking of the 
Americans creeping in under cover of darkness, and in the 
excuse that there was no search light at the entrance to the 
bay, and no patrol established, so that the first notice of the 
presence of the hostile fleet was a spark from the funnel of 
the revenue cutter J/<fG///(?^>^ / The Spaniards seem to 
have depended upon their mines, but made miscalculations 
and fired them too soon. They can blow up a ship that 
they have officially moored to suit themselves, but not one 
that has freedom to move and puts them under fire. The 
Spanish claim that their men were courageous, and fought 
well amidst most disheartening circumstances is justified. 
The mournful words of Sagasta will be long remembered. 

American officers on the flag-ship stood in a group 

unprotected on the bridge, the commodore the centre of the 
24 



4j8 the battle of MANILA. 

group, and apology is made for one who occupied the con- 
ning tower, that it was not proper for all the officers of the 
commodore's boat to be exposed to death from a single 
shell, and therefore one was compelled to betake himself to 
a comparatively safe place. The utter coolness with which 
the commodore knocked off in the midst of the engage- 
ment and ordered a recess and that all might partake of 
refreshments, is an incident that will find a perpetual place 
in the choicest stories of our naval battle experiences. 
However, the Americans were masters of the situation when 
they were called to cease firing and go to breakfast. The 
Spaniards do not seem to have made much disturbance 
during the American intermission. The two terrors, that 
tlie Spaniards have boasted of, are their mines and tor- 
pedo destroyers, but neither was serviceable at Manila. The 
torpedo boats made plucky dashes, but were wiped out 
with rapid-firing guns. Our gunners, when they got the 
word to let go, moved by one impulse, raised a hoarse 
shout, " Remember the Maine''' and avengfed her. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

Landing of the Americans in Cuba — The First Skirmish — Arrival of General 
Shafter with the First Mihtary Expedition — The Rapid Advance of the 
Americans and tlie Effectiveness of American Fighting ; Volunteers Fight 
Like Veterans Carrying Strongly Intrenched Positions without the Aid 
of Artillery — The Destruction of Cervera's Fleet, again Showing the 
Superior American Marksmanship and Discipline of the American Navy 
— Arrival of General Miles — Surrender of General Toral and the Fourth 
Army Corps — Occupation of Santiago by American Troops. 

With Vice-Admiral Cervera's four magnificent armored 
cruisers and two torpedo boats, the pride of Spain's navy, 
in Santiago Harbor, and the Merrimac sunk in the channel, 
the war with Spain assumed a new phase. It was then 
evident that the first duty of the American government was 
to capture the city of Santiago. The war was thereafter 
to be waged aggressively. The American government had 
naturally planned for an invasion of Cuba from the time 
the war began ; but when, on May 20th, Madrid reported 
that Cervera was at Santiago, there was hope that he might 
be trapped, and the campaign against Santiago was consid- 
ered. Then, on May 29th, came Commodore Schley's posi- 
tive announcement that the Spanish ships were in the har- 
bor, followed, on June 3rd, by Hobson's exploit. Even with 
the MenHmac sunk in the channel, the presence of a power- 
ful American squadron off Santiago was necessary. There 
was the danger that Cervera might blow out the channel 
and escape. That could not be permitted, of course, for 
it was imperative that Cervera's ships should be kept out of 

action. Their presence at Santiago removed much uncer- 

419 



420 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

tainty, gave the United States an objective point, and made 
more warships available for uses other than patrol service. 
Transports might now go to Cuba with comparative safety. 
The eunboats in Cuban waters were not feared, and Admi- 
ral Camara's squadron, while fitting out at Cadiz, was not 
dangerous. The government at Washington had been anx- 
ious to strike a blow at Spain in Cuba, and the opportunity 
was now offered. A campaign against Havana, in the rainy 
season, was out of the question. It meant exposing our 
troops to the horrors of the climate there, for an extended 
period, and then a sufficient number of troops for such a 
campaign were not drilled and equipped. The capture of 
Santiago and the destruction of Cervera's fleet, or its seizure, 
would release the fleet before Santiago, and make the end 
of the war nearer; for Spain's coast could then be easily 
harassed, San Juan be bombarded, or other aggressive 
action be possible. An opportunity, most fortunate for 
the United States, was offered and it was not neglected. 

It was originally the intention of the war department to 
start the expedition from Tampa for Cuba on June 6th. 
Transports for that purpose had been assembled there, and 
the Fifth Army Corps, under Major-General William R. 
Shaffer, was assigned for this expedition. With the expec- 
tation that the army of invasion would reach the vicinity of 
Santiago about June nth, the navy had, on June loth, made 
a landing at Guantanamo Bay, thirty-five miles from San- 
tiago. It was thought this would afford a good base of 
operations. It offered excellent facilities for a coaling sta- 
tion and a harbor of refuge for the navy during storms. 
It was also the terminus of the French cable. A battalion 
of marines, numbering about six hundred, under Lieutenant- 
Colonel R. W. Huntington, formed the landing party. 
They took up a position upon the hill, guarding the aban- 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN, 421 

doned French cable station. That night they were unmo- 
lested, and happy in the thought of having made the first 
landing and raised the first American flag on Cuban soil. 
Their troubles, however, soon began. After a hard day's 
work in the heat, landing supplies and clearing their posi- 
tion of brush, at a time when more than a hundred were 
bathing in the bay, they were attacked by the Spaniards. 
The bathers, hearing the attack, rushed for their guns, and 
charged up the hill to reply. All that night, and until six 
the next morning, the harassing fire was kept up. Surgeon 
Gibbs was killed in the skirmish, and several scouts were 
found dead. On Sunday, the 12th, the marines were 
busy throwing up intrenchments, and on the two following 
nights the guerilla warfare was continued. The situation 
had become intolerable. The green marines had fought 
bravely and steadily. They earned commendation for their 
courage, but they were not accustomed to bushwhacking, 
and were almost exhausted from loss of sleep. About 
three hundred of them, under command of Captains Elliot 
and Spicer, started out, on the 14th, to rout the Spaniards. 
After a sharp engagement, in which they killed about sixty 
and wounded twice as many, they captured a heliograph 
by which the Spaniards communicated with the interior 
to secure reinforcements, and they also destroyed the 
well upon which the Spanish troops, operating against them, 
depended for water. In this fight they were aided by the 
Marblehead and Dolphin, which had steamed into Guanta- 
namo Bay. They had also taken part in the previous skir- 
mishes. The Cubans, who understood guerilla warfare, 
proved themselves useless in this battle of Cusco Hill. 

The American army had not yet arrived off Santiago, the 
officers of the fleet became impatient, and the marines 
almost hopeless ; but fortunately they were not again 



422 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

molested. The navy continued its operations in Guan- 
tanamo Bay, clearing it of mines and preparing it for a 
base of operations. The fortifications of Santiago were 
also bombarded, the shells of the Vesuvius being partic- 
ularly effective. There were several narrow escapes from 
disaster in Guantanamo Bay — the Marblehead, for instance, 
striking several contact mines which did not explode. 
Other warships ran the same risk. It was not until the 
14th of June that General Shafter's expedition started. 
The delay was due to many causes, explained easily by 
our lack of preparation before the war, difficulties with 
transports, and other minor matters that combined to 
delay, irritate and aggravate. Finally, everything was set- 
tled, and the thirty-five transports, convoyed by the battle- 
ship Indiana and a number of unarmored vessels, sailed 
from Tampa. On the 20th the great fleet arrived off 
Santiago. General Shafter was met by Admiral Sampson, 
and, after a conference, the Seguranca, General Shafter's 
flag-ship, sailed to Acerraderos, a point eighteen miles west 
of Santiago, situated on a little bay at the base of the moun- 
tains. Here a landing was made, and General Shafter, with 
his staff, including the foreign military attaches, and Admiral 
Sampson, met and consulted with General Garcia, the Cuban 
leader. At this meeting the plan of campaign was con- 
sidered and a decision reached as to the landing. 

The work of landing Shafter's fifteen thousand men was 
a task of great danger and difficulty, yet it was accomplished 
with the loss of but two men, who were drowned. This 
was a great accomplishment and every man was ashore 
within two days. Admiral Sampson, on the 2 2d, made 
a feint against Cabanas, which is west of Santiago about 
two and one-half miles, while the troops were landed at 
Baiquiri, a point about eighteen miles by a direct line from 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 423 

Santiago. The fortifications at Aguadores and Santiago 
were also bombarded. On the second day some of the 
troops were landed at Siboney, five miles further west. 
Siboney then became the army's headquarters. Perhaps 
the most remarkable feature of the landing was the lack of 
opposition. The troops comprising the original expedition 
were as follows: First Division, Brigadier-General J. F. 
Kent commanding: First Brigade, Sixth and Sixteenth 
regular infantry and Seventy-first New York volunteers ; 
Second Brigade, Brigadier-General J. C. Bates command- 
ing ; Second, Tenth and Twenty-first regular infantry ; 
Third Brigade, Ninth, Thirteenth and Twenty-fourth infan- 
try. Second Division, Brigadier General H. W. Lawton 
commanding: First Brigade, Colonel J. J. Van Horn, Eighth 
and Twenty-second regular infantry, and Second Massachu- 
setts volunteers ; Third Brigade, General A. R. Chaffee, 
Seventh, Twelfth and Seventeenth regular infantry. Third 
Division: First Brigade, Major-General H. S. Hawkins, 
Third and Twentieth regulars. Cavalry, Major-General 
Wheeler commanding, with Brigadier-General S. B. M. 
Young second in command: Eight troops each of the First, 
Third, Sixth, Ninth and Tenth cavalry and the First volun- 
teer (Rough Rider) cavalry. Light batteries E and K First, 
and A and F of the Second artillery, and two heavy bat- 
teries, G and H, of the Fourth artillery and two companies, 
C and E, of engineer battalion, under Brigadier-General 
Ludlow. Before the first assault upon Santiago, the Thirty- 
third Michigan and one battalion of the Thirty-fourth 
Michigan arrived. 

The army lost no time in pushing forward. The first 
night saw the advance guard of the troops landed at 
Baiquiri, five miles on the road to Santiago. On the 23d 
the first engagement occurred, at La Quasima. The Ameri- 



424 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 



can forces consisted of eight troops each from the First and 
Tenth cavalry, and the First (Wood-Roosevelt) volunteer 
cavalry under Brigadier-General Young, numbering less 
than a thousand. They started from Siboney to take an 
important position on the road to Sevilla. The Rough 
Riders (volunteer cavalry) went along the ridge of a hill, 
while General Young's forces were proceeding at its base 
to attack the enemy in the front, while the Rough Riders 
assaulted their flank. The Spaniards were stationed at the 
apex of a V, along the sides of which the two detachments of 
Americans were marching. Concealed in the chaparral, the 
enemy attacked both forces simultaneously when they were 
about three miles from Siboney. The situation was trying 
for the raw troops, but they were steady and eager. Colonel 
Wood and Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt led a magnificent 
charge against the enemy and routed them, while General 
Young's men, at the base of the hill, were equally suc- 
cessful and gallant. Colonel (now Brigadier-General) 
Leonard Wood, commanding the volunteer cavalry, in a 
letter to the Secretary of War, dated June 27th, modesdy 
describes the engagement as follows : 

" We commenced our advance from our first landing- 
place on the 23d, and that night Colonel Young and I, as 
second in command of the Second Cavalry Brigade, had a 
long war talk about taking the very strong Spanish position 
about five miles up the road to Santiago. He decided that 
he would make a feint on their front, while I was to make a 
detour by trail under a couple of Cuban guides, and take 
them in flank and try to get them out of their very strong 
position, which was in the wildest and roughest part of the 
trail toward the town. Our litde plan worked. 

" I located the Spanish outpost and deployed silently, and 
when in position fired on them. Shortly after I opened, I 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 425 

could hear Young on the right, down in the valley. The 
fight lasted over two hours, and was hot at close range. 
The Spanish used the volley a great deal, while my men 
fired as individuals. 

" We soon found that instead of 1,500 men we had struck 
a very heavy outpost of several thousand. To cut a long 
story short, we drove them steadily but slowly, and finally 
threw them into flight. Their losses must have been heavy, 
for all news coming out of Santiago reports a great many 
dead and wounded, and that the Spanish had 4,000 men and 
two machine guns (these we saw), and were under two gen- 
eral officers, and that the Spanish dead and wounded were 
being brought in for six hours ; also that the garrison was 
expecting an assault that night ; that the defeated troops 
reported that they had fought the entire American army for 
four hours, but had been compelled, by greatly superior 
numbers, to retreat, and that the army was coming, etc. 

" My men conducted themselves splendidly and behaved 
like veterans, going up against the heavy Spanish line as 
though they knew no fear." 

The spirit of the troops was admirable. The colored 
troopers fought alongside the white soldiers with equal 
gallantry. The volunteers were not surpassed by the 
regulars in daring. Perhaps both under-estimated the skill 
and courage of their adversaries, but they made a fight that 
has added glory to American arms. The casualties were 
very heavy in proportion to the men engaged, twenty-two 
being killed and at least sixty wounded and missing. The 
first man killed was Sergeant Hamilton Fish, Jr., of the 
Rough Riders. He was the first American soldier sacri- 
ficed for the cause of Cuban liberty. Captain Allen K. 
Capron, of the Rough Riders, was also killed in this en- 
gagement ; a popular, brave, efficient officer, whose example 



426 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

was particularly inspiring- to the men. In this fight the 
college athlete, the clubman, the cowboy, the plainsman, 
the clerk and the adventurer fought side by side without 
wavering, " Not a man flinched," said Lieutenant-Colonel 
Roosevelt; and, as a Spanish prisoner put it, " They did not 
fight as other soldiers. When we fired a volley they ad- 
vanced instead of going back. The more we fired the 
nearer they came to us." In this engagement Edward 
Marshall, a newspaper correspondent, was shot through 
the spine ; yet he did not falter, but dictated news to his 
paper during intervals of consciousness. With him, as with 
the soldier, it was duty first, though there was no chance 
for promotion. Costly as this engagement was in men, it 
was worth the price, for it made the advance to the in- 
trenchments before Santiago practically unopposed. There 
was frequent firing between the scouts of both sides, but 
the enemy steadily retreated until our soldiers were almost 
upon their intrenchments, and within a few miles of San- 
tiago. There the enemy made its last stand. 

Thursday, June 30th, a week after the engagement at 
La Quasima, saw General Shafter's outposts within hailing 
distance of the enemy's intrenchments before Santiago. 
No time had been lost since the landing. The rapid ad- 
vance of the army, considering the rough character of 
ground over which they traveled, was remarkable. The 
roads, notwithstanding the work of the engineers, were al- 
most impassable. The troops at the front carried practically 
nothing but ammunition and short rations. Four batteries 
of light artillery had been brought forward with great diffi- 
culty, the siege guns being still at the landing-places. 
With his army extended five miles in front of Santiago, 
General Shafter had to determine whether to wait for the 
siege guns and then attack the city, or to rely upon dash 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 427 

and courage to take the place of artillery. The bravery of 
the enemy seems to have been under-estimated, and Gen- 
eral Shafter felt he could take Santiago in forty-eight hours. 
His forces numbered about 16,000, while the enemy had 
14,000. They were magnificently intrenched, and their in- 
trenchments were protected by wire fences. Batteries were 
placed advantageously and in every respect the Spanish 
position was almost impregnable. General Shafter thought, 
however, that with batteries E and F of the First, and A 
and F of the Second Artillery, he was in condition to at- 
tack. The battle was thus to be fought almost wholly by the 
infantry. General Shafter was doubtless moved in his deter- 
mination to begin the attack, without waiting for his siege 
guns, by an appreciation of the importance of keeping the 
army in good health, the climatic influences being almost as 
dangerous as the gun-fire of the enemy. The assault was 
determined upon, and Friday, July ist, was the date fixed 
for the battle. 

During the night of June 30th, the American troops 
moved nearer the Spanish intrenchments. On the right 
was Lawton's division ; next to this was General Kent's, 
General Hawkins', and General Wheeler's — the latter dis- 
mounted cavalry. The battle was opened early in the day 
by artillery firing, and the Spaniards created surprise by 
their good marksmanship. There were three important 
positions which the American army sought to take, and they 
were well fortified. In front of Lawton's division was the 
town of El Caney, a position of great strategical import- 
ance. South of it was San Juan, which was of equal im- 
portance, and defended as El Caney was, by heavy intrench- 
ments and blockhouses. Further south was Aguadores, 
commanding the road to Morro Castle. To take these po- 
sitions required the hardest and most desperate fighting. 



428 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

The movement against Aguadores was not at all successful. 
The Thirty-third Michigan and a battalion of the Thirty- 
fourth Michigan, under General Duffield, were brought, by 
train, from Siboney to a point near Aguadores. The warships 
shelled the Spanish position and the Michigan troops ad- 
vanced under fire. They replied steadily, but the smoke of 
their Springfields showed their position, and made it partic- 
ularly dangerous, as was shown by the explosion of a Span- 
ish shell in the center of one company. It was discovered 
that the bridge over the river Gauma had been wrecked 
by the Spaniards, making it impossible to attack Morro 
Castle. Could this have been done the course of the 
battle might have been changed and the attempt made 
to take Morro, so as to make possible the passage of the 
channel by the American fleet. The only thing gained by 
this movement was to distract the enemy's attention. 

The assault upon El Caney occupied the whole of Gene- 
ral Lawton's division. The advance was made against 
the intrenchments under a steady, galling fire, and in a 
blistering heat. Captain Capron's battery, which had opened 
the fight, shelled the enemy's intrenchments, and the 
brigade under General Chaffee advanced. It was desperate 
fighting, but they drove the enemy before them, slowly but 
steadily, suffering severely in doing so. They charged up the 
hill and down on the other side, always gaining ground, 
and never wavering despite the fearful fire. The enemy's 
blockhouses were destroyed or captured. General Ludlow 
had been placed in command of Van Horn's brigade, 
General Van Horn having been injured in the landing. 
Ludlow's troops and those under Colonel Miles, with 
Chaffee in front, advanced so as to surround the enemy in 
El Caney on three sides. This was done, but not without 
heavy fighting near the rifle pits and severe losses. 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 



429 



Nightfall, on the first day, saw Lawton's division practi- 
cally in control of El Caney. 

The center and left wing of the army devoted its atten- 
tion to attacking the intrenchments of the enemy on the 
regular road to Santiago and at San Juan, a small village 
occupying an important location. Here was repeated the 
gallantry and bravery and heavy fighting that character- 
ized the action under General Lawton. The central de- 
fences of the enemy resisted the attack of the Americans 
with great tenacity. Here again the Spanish infantry 
proved that they had been under-estimated. They were 
stubborn, steady, daring and earnest, fighting sharply and 
incessantly. The attacks had been well planned and were 
well executed. The American troops there, as in the en- 
tire fighting before Santiago, had worthy foemen. The as- 
saults upon the central position of the Spaniards and upon 
San Juan proved even more costly than that upon El 
Caney, but the American troops were regardless of 
danger, eager to fight, and determined, when at work. 
Their ofiicers were gallant and fearless. On several occa- 
sions commanding generals led their men in person to the 
assault. The heavy casualties among the officers during 
the fighting before Santiago showed the fearlessness of our 
troops and the stubbornness of the enemy, and proved the 
fallacy of the theory that the new rifles would prevent hand- 
to-hand conflicts. The intrenchments in the centre and 
at San Juan were carried, and the enemy driven within the 
city. After a long struggle the day ended with a consider- 
able American advance and very heavy losses. General 
Shafter's plans had been well conceived and well exe- 
cuted. On July 2nd, after a night occupied in carrying 
the wounded to the rear, burying the dead, and throwing 
up intrenchments, hostilities were renewed. Finally the 



43° 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 



Spaniards were driven, with heavy loss, further toward 
Santiago ; El Caney was captured, and the Spanish army de- 
moralized. The weather was exceedingly hot, and the heat 
disabled as many Americans on the line of fire as did the 
enemy's bullets. 

Of the fighting of the American troops before Santiago 
on the ist and 2nd of July too much cannot be said. They 
were bravely and skillfully led and never repulsed. The 
volunteers, with the army, distinguished themselves for their 
steadiness; and, as at La Ouasima, the colored troops vied 
with the white soldiers in daringr. The strenc^th of our 
army, its magnificent fighting capacity, was demonstrated 
before Santiago on these two days, but at fearful cost. 
Twenty-three officers and 208 men were killed, while 80 
officers and 1,202 men were wounded, with 81 missing, a total 
loss of 1,594, ^^ ten per cent, of the troops engaged. We 
had won a victory, but at a cost which made the battle seem 
almost as disastrous as a defeat. At least, it seemed that 
way the next morning. General Shaffer cabled Wash- 
ington that day that a thin line of troops surrounded San- 
tiago, but he doubted if he would be strong enough to take 
the city. His men were tired, unnerved, and almost dis- 
heartened. The climate was telling on them and their situa- 
tion was particularly trying; General Shaffer, himself, was 
physically in bad shape. It was then that the government at 
Washington determined to hasten heavy reinforcements to 
General Shaffer. And yet, before night. General Shaffer 
had demanded the surrender of the city from General Toral, 
who commanded the Spanish troops in place of his superior 
officer. General Linares, who had been wounded. The 
American general had seen the situation through different 
eyes toward the end of the day. He was not fright- 
ened, but he had been anxious, and later in the day he 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 431 

received encouraging information. He had not, at first, con- 
sidered the terrible havoc which his attack upon the Spanish 
intrenchments had inflicted upon the enemy. Their dead and 
wounded were more numerous than those of the Americans ; 
provisions were becoming scarce and the situation desper- 
ate, while the enforced departure of Cervera's fleet from 
Santiago Harbor had added to the despair. When Shafter 
demanded Santiago's surrender he knew what had been the 
fate of Cervera's ships. 

When Commodore Schley learned, on May 29, that the 
Spanish fleet was actually in Santiago Harbor, he said: "I 
have got them and they will never go home." He spoke 
the truth. On Sunday, July 3d, the blockading warships had 
been on duty five weeks. The weather was stifling hot. 
The men aboard the ships were greatly concerned about 
the land battle that had been waged for two days. They 
had information as to its progress, and had themselves 
bombarded the Spanish defences at the harbor's entrances 
during the battle, while the Vesuvius spread terror in the 
city by her earthquaking gun-cotton shells. On duty before 
the harbor beginning on the West were the American war- 
ships : the armored cruiser Brooklyn, Commodore Schley's 
flagship, under command of Captain Cook ; the battleship 
Texas, Captain Philip ; the batdeship Iowa, Captain Evans ; 
the converted yacht Gloucester, Lieutenant-Commander 
Wainwright; the battleship Oi^egoji, Captain Clark; the 
converted yacht Vixen, and the battleship hidiana, Captain 
Taylor. Admiral Sampson, on board his flagship, the ar- 
mored (ir\\\^^v NezvYork, Captain Chadwick, had gone eight 
miles down the coast to Siboney, to consult General Shafter. 

Shortly before ten, in the morning, columns of smoke 
were noticed in Santiago harbor by the lookout on board 
of the Brooklyn. Hobson's cork had not been well fitted, it 



432 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

appeared, but there was no criticism of the gallant lieu- 
tenant. Commodore Schley signaled at once to all the 
ships, "The enemy is coming out of the harbor," and each 
captain knev/ his duty and did it. It was uncertain what 
course the cruisers would take. They might go to the East, 
they might try to break through the blockaders or proceed 
West to make the Harbors of Cienfuegos or Havana. It 
required only a minute to see that the leading vessel, the 
magnificent Maria Teresa, flagship, was bound West. Then 
the warships closed in toward the entrance of the harbor. 
Following the Teresa was her sister-ship, the Almii'ante 
Oquendo ; then the Cristobal Colojt, and fourth the splen- 
did Vizcaya, sister to the Teresa and Oquendo; while 
back of her were the two torpedo destroyers Phiton and 
Furor. It was a desperate and brilliant dash these great 
vessels were making. They knew the probabilities were 
that they would be destroyed, but they hoped that their 
great speed — not one of the cruisers was rated slower than 
20 knots — would save them. This was a feat, destined 
to be famous, though doomed to failure. 

As the Maria Teresa left the harbor she opened fire upon 
the American warships, and the shore batteries joined in. 
The American ships did not hesitate, but turned their heavy 
guns upon the enemy. The Iowa fired steadily upon the 
Teresa, keeping her on the starboard side and trying to ram 
her, but the cruiser was too fast and soon passed on. The 
Texas and Brooklyn paid their respects to the Teresa very 
impressively. The Oregon came rushing up at full speed, 
firing upon the Spanish vessels, as they sped on, with 
dreadful effect. The Almirante Oquendo, meanwhile, was 
receiving the fire of the Iowa and Texas, and the CiHstobal 
Colon was rushing onward, and giving and receiving deadly 
fire. The speed of the escaping Spanish ships was too 




II 



"y.'^^Pr.CHAS.EtU^ 



MEN OF OUR NAVY. 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 435 

much for the Iowa and Indiana, which had been firing 
heavily at long range, but the Brooklyn and Oregon kept 
up the good work and were soon engaged with the Infanta 
Teresa, the Oqiiendo and the Colo7i. The Texas was doing 
magnificent work against the Vizcaya, while the other war- 
ships of the American fleet were not wanting in effective 
firing. Meantime the Oregon was forging ahead at mag- 
nificent speed, engaging each of the cruisers in turn. The 
great ship that had come round the Horn to fight these 
cruisers, and which, it was feared for awhile, might meet 
them alone while coming North along the South American 
coast, was showing her mettle and justifying the judgment of 
the naval authorities in having her make the thirteen thous- 
and mile trip. She raked the Spanish ships as she passed 
them and, at the same time, fired upon those that were in 
front. The Maria Teresa early showed tTie effect of the 
steady and accurate fire of the American ships. She was 
soon burning, and at 10.35 ^^^ forced ashore. The Oquendo 
followed her, five minutes later, badly injured and on fire 
from the American shells. The Cristobal Colon had been 
gaining on the Vizcaya during this time, but the latter was 
putting up a game fight against our ships. She had been 
attacked by the Iowa and the Texas, while the Indiana had 
given her some hard hits at long range. An eight-inch 
shell from the Brooklyn raked the Vizcaya fore and aft 
along her gun deck, killing and wounding eighty sailors. 
In a moment another shell had struck her superstructure 
and exploded with awful effect. She then followed her 
sister ships and headed for the shore. Another shot hit and 
exploded her forward torpedoes just as she struck the 
beach, and she was completely wrecked. Thus three de- 
feated warships were burning on the beach where they had 

struck some minutes earlier. The New York, with Admiral 
25 



436 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

Sampson, was soon rushing along from Siboney, trying to 
get into the fight. 

The torpedo-destroyers came out of the harbor intending 
to follow the cruisers, but they did not get far away. The 
Gloucester, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Wain- 
wright, who had been executive officer of the Maijie and the 
last man to leave that ship In Havana Harbor, engaged them 
both at once, as she had each cruiser, in turn, as they left the 
harbor. The Gloucester made a g-allant fieht aeainst these 
destroyers and proved that pluck and skill are effective, no 
matter what kind of a vessel it commands. She " remem- 
bered the Matney The Iowa destroyed one with a twelve- 
inch shell and the Gloucester ruined the other. The 
Colon kept up its speed. She was running for life, but 
the Brooklyn and the Oi^egon were having no mercy, 
while the Texas was near at hand. This was a most 
remarkable chase The New York steadily drew nearer. 
After a run of forty miles, seeing that there was no chance 
for escape, the commander of the Colon ran his vessel 
in shore — almost at the exact spot as it happened where 
the Virginius, twenty-five years before, had tried to land a 
filibustering expedition. The Spanish Admiral was taken 
prisoner, and more than a thousand officers and men shared 
his fate, several hundred others having been killed or 
wounded. The strongest Spanish fleet had been destroyed 
and the United States navy commanded the seas. Had 
it not been for the superior speed of the Brooklyn, and the 
battle-ship Oregon, both of which engaged every Spanish 
ship,. one of them, at least, might have escaped. It was a 
sad day for Spain and the turning point in the war. The 
purpose of the campaign against Santiago had been accom- 
plished and at a cost of one man killed on the Bt^ooklyn 
and two wounded. Our ships were struck many times, but 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 437 

only three shells did serious damage. Superior seamanship, 
magnificent gunnery, superb work with the rapid-fire guns, 
and American spirit had done the work. A heroic and chiv- 
alrous sailor, Cervera, had sacrificed his fleet under orders 
received fi-om Madrid through Captain-General Blanco. 

Captain Evans' account of the battle is intensely inter- 
esting : 

"At the time 'general quarters ' was sounded, the engine 
bell rang fijll speed ahead, and I put the helm to starboard, 
and the loiua crossed the bows of the Infanta Maria Teresa, 
the first ship out. As the Spanish admiral swung to the 
westward the twelve-inch shells from the forward turret of 
the Iowa seemed to strike him fair in the bow, and the 
fight was a spectacle. 

"As the squadron came out in column, the ships beau- 
tifully spaced as to distance, and gradually increasing their 
speed to thirteen knots, it was superb. 

" The Iowa, from this moment, kept up a steady fire from 
her heavy guns, heading all the time to keep the Infanta 
Maria Teresa on her starboard, and hoping to ram one of 
the leading ships. 

" In the meantime, the Oregon.^ Indiana, Brooklyn and 
Texas were doing excellent work with their heavy guns. 

" In a very short space of time the enemy's ships were 
all clear of the harbor mouth, and it became evidently 
impossible for the Iowa to ram either the first or the 
second ship on account of their speed. The range was 
200 yards from the leading ship. The lowds helm was 
immediately put hard to the starboard, and the entire 
starboard broadside was poured into the Infanta Maria 
Teresa. The helm was then quickly shifted to port, and 
the ship headed across the stern of the Teresa in an effort 
to head off the Almirante Oquendo. 



438 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

" All this time the engines were driving at full speed 
ahead. A perfect torrent of shells from the enemy passed 
over the smokestacks and superstructures, but none struck 
the ship. 

"The Cristobal Coloii^ being much faster than the rest 
of the Spanish ships, passed rapidly to the front in an 
effort to escape. In passing the Iowa, the Colon placed 
two six-inch shells fairly in our starboard bow. One 
passed through the dispensary, wrecking the latter, and 
bursting on the berth-deck, doing considerable damage. 
The other passed through the side at the water-line with 
the cofferdam, where it still remains. 

" As it was now obviously impossible to ram any of the 
Spanish ships on account of their superior speed, the lozvas 
helm was put to the starboard, and she ran on a course 
parallel with the enemy. Being then abreast of the 
Almirante OqueJido, at a distance of i loo yards, the Iowa s 
entire battery, including the rapid-fire guns, was opened 
on the Oqucndo. The punishment was terrific. 

" Many twelve and eight-inch shells were seen to explode 
inside of her, and smoke came out through her hatches. 
Two twelve-inch shells from the Iowa pierced the Almi- 
rante Oqucndo at the same moment, one forward and the 
other aft. The Oqucndo seemed to stop her engines for a 
moment, and lost headway ; but she immediately resumed 
her speed and gradually drew ahead of the Iowa, and came 
under the terrific fire of the Oregon and Texas. 

" At this moment the alarm of ' torpedo boats ' was 
sounded, and two torpedo-boat destroyers were discovered 
on the Iowa's starboard quarter at a distance of 400 yards. 
Fire was at once opened on them with the after battery, 
and a twelve-inch shell cut the stern of one destroyer 
squarely off. As this shell struck, a small torpedo-boat 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 439 

fired back at the battle-ship, sending a shell within a few 
feet of my head. I said to Executive Officer Rogers, ' that 
little chap has got a lot of cheek.' Rogers shouted back, 
' He shoots very well, all the same.' 

" Well up among the advancing cruisers, spitting shot at 
one and then at another, was the little Gloucester, shooting 
first at a cruiser and then at a torpedo-boat, and hitting a 
head wherever she saw it. The marvel was that she was 
not destroyed by the rain of shells. 

" In the meantime the Vizcaya was slowly drawing abeam 
of the Iowa, and for the space of fifteen minutes it was give 
and take between the two ships. The Vizcaya fired rapidly 
but wildly, not one shot striking the Iowa, while the shells 
from the Iowa were tearing great rents in the sides of 
the Vizcaya. As the latter passed ahead of the Iowa she 
came under the murderous fire of the Oregon. 

" At this time the Infanta Maria Teresa and the Abni- 
rante Oquendo, leading the enemy's column, were seen to 
be heading for the beach, and in flames. The Texas, Ore- 
gon and loiva pounded them unmercifully. They ceased 
to reply to the fire, and in a few moments the Spanish 
cruisers were a mass of flames on the rocks, with their 
colors down, the Teresa flying a white flag at the fore. 

" The crews of the enemy's ships stripped themselves 
and began jumping overboard, and one of the smaller maga- 
zines exploded. 

" Meantime the Brooklyn and the Cristobal Colon were 
exchanging compliments in lively fashion at apparently 
long range ; and the Oregon, with her locomotive speed, 
was hanging well on to the Colon, also paying attention to 
the Vizcaya. The Teresa and the Oqnendo were in flames 
on the beach just twenty minutes after the first shot was 
fired. Fifty minutes after the first shot was fired the Viz- 



440 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

caya put her helm to port, with a great burst of flame from 
the after part of the ship, and headed slowly for the rocks 
at Acerraderos, where she found her last resting-place. 

" As it was apparent that the loiva could not possibly 
catch the Cristobal Colon, and that the Oregon and Brook- 
lyn undoubtedly would ; and, as the fast New York was also 
on her trail, I decided that the calls of humanity should be 
answered, and attention given to the 1,200 or 1,500 Spanish 
officers and men who had struck their colors to the Ameri- 
can squadron commanded by Admiral Sampson. I, there- 
fore, headed for the wreck of the Vizcaya, now furiously 
burning fore and aft. 

'* When I was as far as the depth of water would admit, I 
lowered all my boats and sent them at once to the assistance 
of the unfortunate men who were being drowned by dozens 
or roasted on the decks. I soon discovered that the insur- 
gent Cubans from the shore were shooting at men who 
were struggling in the water after having surrendered to 
us. I immediately put a stop to this, but I could not put a 
stop to the mutilation of many bodies by the sharks inside 
the reefs. These creatures had become excited by the 
blood from the wounded mixing in the water. 

" My boats' crews worked manfully and succeeded in 
saving many of the wounded from the burning ship. One 
man, who will be recommended for promotion, clambered up 
the side of the Vizcaya and saved three men from burning 
to death. The smaller magazines of the Vizcaya were ex- 
ploding with magnificent cloud effects. The boats were 
coming alongside In a steady string, and willing hands were 
helping the lacerated Spanish officers and sailors on to the 
lowds quarter-deck. All the Spaniards were absolutely 
without clothes. Some had their legs torn off by fragments 
of shells. Others were mutilated in every conceivable way. 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 441 

" The bottoms of the boats held two or three inches of 
blood. In many cases dead men were lying in the blood. 
Five poor chaps died on the way to the ship. They were 
afterwards buried with military honors from the Iowa. 
Some examples of heroism — or, more properly, devotion 
to discipline and duty — could never be surpassed. One 
man, on the lost Vizcaya, had his left arm almost shot off 
just below the shoulder. The fragments were hanging by 
a small piece of skin ; but he climbed, unassisted, over the 
side and saluted as if on a visit of ceremony. Immediately 
after him came a strong, hearty sailor, whose left leg had 
been shot off above the knee. He was hoisted on board 
the Iowa with a tackle, but never a whimper came from 
him. Gradually the mangled bodies and naked well men 
accumulated, until it would have been almost difficult to 
recognize the Iowa as a United States battleship. 

" Blood was all over her usually white quarter-deck, and 
272 naked men were being supplied with water and food 
by those who, a few minutes before, had been using a rapid- 
fire battery on them. Finally came the boats with Captain 
Eulate, commander of the Vizcaya, for whom a chair was 
lowered over the side, as he was evidently wounded. The 
captain's guard of marines was drawn up on the quarter- 
deck to salute him, and I stood waiting to welcome him. 
As the chair was placed on the deck, the marines presented 
arms ; Captain Eulate slowly raised himself in the chair, 
saluted me with grave dignity, unbuckled his sword-belt, 
and, holding the hilt of the sword before him, kissed it 
reverently, with tears in his eyes, and then surrendered it 
to me. Of course I declined to receive his sword, and as 
the crew of the Iowa saw this they cheered like wild men. 
As I started to take Captain Eulate into the cabin to let 
the doctors examine his wounds, the magazines on board 



442 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

the Vizcaya exploded with a tremendous burst of flame. 
Captain Eulate, extending his hands, said ' Adios, Fz'^<f^jK^/ ' 
'There goes my beautiful ship, Captain,' and so we passed 
on to the cabin, where the doctors dressed his three 
wounds. In the meantime thirty officers of the Vizcaya 
had been picked up, besides 272 of her crew. 

" Our ward-room and steerage officers gave up their 
state-rooms, and furnished food, clothing and tobacco to 
those naked officers from the Vizcaya. The paymaster 
issued uniforms to the naked sailors, and each was given 
all the corned beef, coffee and hardtack he could eat. The 
war had assumed another aspect. 

" As I knew the crews of the first two ships wrecked had 
not been visited by any of our vessels, I ran down to them. 
I found the Gloucester^ with Admiral Cervera and a num- 
ber of his officers on board, and also a large number of 
wounded, some in a frightfully mangled condition. Many 
prisoners had been killed on shore by the fire of the 
Cubans. The Harvard came off, and I requested Captain 
Cotton to go in and take off the crews of the Infanta Maria 
Teresa and the Admu^ante Oquendo, and by midnight the 
Harvard had 976 prisoners aboard, a great number of 
them wounded. 

" For courage and dash there is no parallel in history to 
this action of the Spanish admiral. He came, as he knew, 
to absolute destruction. There was one single hope ; that 
was that the Cristobal Colon would steam faster than the 
Brooklyn. The spectacle of two torpedo-boat destroyers, 
paper shells at best, deliberately steaming out in broad 
daylight in the face of the fire of a battleship can only be 
described in one way. It was Spanish and it was ordered 
by Blanco. The same must be said of the entire move- 
ment. 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 443 

"In contrast to this Spanish fashion was the cool, delib- 
erate Yankee work. The American squadron was with- 
out sentiment, apparently. The ships went at their Span- 
ish opponents and literally tore them to pieces. But the 
moment the Spanish flag came down it must have been evi- 
dent that the sentiment was amonor the Americans, not the 
Spaniards. 

" I took Admiral Cervera aboard the Iowa from the 
Gloucester, which had rescued him from the dead, and re- 
ceived him with a full admiral's guard. The crew of the 
Iowa crowded aft over the turrets, half-naked and black 
with powder, as Cervera stepped over the side, bareheaded. 
Over his undershirt he wore a thin suit of flannel, bor- 
rowed from Lieutenant Commander Wainwriofht of the 
Gloucester. The crew cheered vociferously. Cervera was 
every inch an admiral, even if he had not any hat. He 
submitted to the fortunes of war with a grace that pro- 
claimed him a thoroughbred." 

Captain Evans is intensely proud of his ship and her 
men. The Iowa fired thirty-one twelve-inch, forty-eight 
eight-inch, 270 four-inch, 1,060 six-pound and 1,020 one- 
pound shots. 

The officers of the Vizcaya said they simply could not 
hold their crews at the guns on account of the rapid fire 
poured upon them. The decks were flooded with water 
from the fire hose, mingled with blood from the wounded — 
a dark red tide of human hate and misery, fearful to behold, 
in which gruesome fragments of bodies floated along the 
gun deck. Every instant the crack of exploding shells told 
of new havoc. One of the twelve-inch shells from the 
Iowa exploded a torpedo in the Vizcaya s bow, blowing 
twenty men against the deck above and dropping them 
dead 2^\A mangled into the fire which at once started below. 



444 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

The torpedo boat Ericsson was sent by the flagship to 
help the loiva rescue the Vizcayd s crew. Her men saw a 
terrible sight. The flames leaping out from the huge shot 
holes in the Vizcayd s sides licked up the decks, sizzling the 
flesh of the wounded who were lying there shrieking for 
help. Between the frequent explosions there came awful 
cries and groans from the men penned in below. This car- 
nage was chiefly due to the rapidity of the Americans' fire. 

Corporal Smith, on the Iowa, fired 135 aimed shots in 
fifty minutes from a four-inch gun. Two shells struck 
within ten feet of Smith and started a small fire ; but the 
corporal went on pumping shots into the enemy, only stop- 
ping to say, "They've got it in for this gun, sir." 

From two six-pounders, 440 shots were fired in fifty min- 
utes. Up in the tops, the marines banged away with one- 
pounders, too excited to stop to duck as the shells whistled 
over them. One gunner of a secondary battery, under a 
twelve-inch gun, was blinded by smoke and saltpetre from the 
turret, and his crew were driven off; but sticking a wet hand- 
kerchief over his face, with holes cut for his eyes, he stuck 
to his gun. Finally, as the six-pounders were so close to 
the eight-inch turret as to make it impossible to stay there 
with safety, the men were ordered away whenever the big 
gun was fired ; but they refused to leave. 

When the eieht-inch eun was fired the concussion blew 
two men of the smaller guns' crews ten feet from their guns 
and threw them to the deck as deaf as posts. Back they 
went again, however, and were again blown away, and 
finally had to be dragged away from their stations. Such 
bravery and such dogged determination under the heavy 
fire was of frequent occurrence on all the ships engaged. 

During his stay on the Iowa, Admiral Cervera endeared 
himself to all. After Blanco's order was issued, he wanted 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 



445 



to come out on the night of July 2, but General Linares 
said, "Wait till to-morrow morning. You will catch them 
at divine service then." The Spaniards say that no torpedo 
boats ever came out to attack Admiral Sampson's fleet. 
The Pillion and Terror, they say, kept guard every night 
inside the harbor. 

The following account is given by an eye-witness on board 
the Brooklyn, as seen from the conning tower, alongside of 
Commodore Schley. The Brooklyn being in the fight 
from start to finish, and continually in the thickest of it, 
this story is very interesting: 

It is a custom on ships, regulated by the rules, that there 
shall be a oreneral muster at least once each three months 
and that the articles of war shall be read. First call had 
been sounded at 9. 1 5 a.m., and the men were assembling on 
the decks. The lookout in the masthead of the Brooklyn 
had, some time before, reported smoke in the harbor, but as 
the same thing had been noticed several times, no special 
attention was paid to it. The Brooklyn and the Vixen were 
the only ships to the west of the entrance, the other ships 
having drifted well to the east. 

On the bridge. Navigator Hodgson, of the Brooklyn, said 
sharply to the lookout: "Isn't that smoke moving? " and 
the lookout, after a minute's inspection with the long glass, 
dropped it excitedly and fairly yelled : " There's a big ship 
coming out of the harbor, sir." Hodgson, who is a partic- 
ularly cool man, looked once himself and then, grasping the 
megaphone, shouted: "After bridge, there! Tell the com- 
modore the enemy's fleet is coming out." 

Commodore Schley was sitting under the awning on the 
quarter deck. Going to the bridge he said : " Raise the 
signal to the fleet," and turning to Captain Cook, who 
stood near, he said : " Clear the ship for action." Then 



446 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

he went forward and took his place on a little platform of 
wood running on the outside of the conning tower, which 
had been built for him. 

He was dressed in blue trousers, a black alpaca jacket 
and the regulation cap, without the broad band of gold 
braid. The men, with a yell, went to their guns, and the 
rapid preliminary orders were given. Schley, glass in hand, 
watched the first ship turn out and saw her start for the 
west. Still he gave no signal to fire or move. 

The Oregon opened with her thirteen-inch shells, and the 
Indiana and Texas followed suit. But the range was a 
long one. Still the Brooklyn waited. But down below, 
the coal was being forced into the furnaces, every boiler was 
being worked, and every gun made ready to fire. Schley 
wanted to know which way they were all going, or whether 
they would scatter. In the meantime the Oregon began to 
turn to the west, and the Texas had moved in closer and 
was damaging the leading ship, the Infanta Maria Teresa. 

" They are coming west, sir," shouted Lieutenant Sears. 
And just then the western batteries opened up. " Full 
speed ahead, open fire," shouted the commodore. " Fire 
deliberately and don't waste shot," he added, and the order- 
lies carried the word to the turrets. In an instant the 
Brooklyn! s terrific eight- and five-inch batteries on her port 
side opened, and the cruiser headed for a point in front of 
the first escaping ship, firing at and receiving the fire from 
two of them. 

Then Commodore Schley saw that the first ship was com- 
ing out from the shore, headed direcdy for the Brooklyn, 
with the evident intention of ramming her. A clever ma- 
rop.uver was here accomolished. " Hard aoort with your 
helm," shouted Schley, and the cruiser began to go around, 
the smoke coming from her funnels in huge volumes. 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 447 

Quickly she turned and quickly her big steel ram was 
pointed at the first ship. The l7ifanta Maria Teresa had 
to work inshore to avoid being rammed. The shells of the 
Texas and the Oregon, with the terrible storms of shell from 
the Brooklyn, had done their work, and the smoke began to 
appear pouring from the decks of the doomed Spanish 
flagship. 

In the meantime the converted yacht, Gloucester, could be 
seen, with the help of the Iowa, destroying the two torpedo 
boat destroyers that had followed the last ship out. At 10 
o'clock the entire Cape Verde squadron was outside the 
harbor and going rapidly westward. 

The Iowa and the Indiana could not keep up the pace, but 
the Oregon was coming across to the assistance of the Brook- 
lyn, which at 10.05 was engaging the first three ships, the 
Infanta Maria Teresa, the Cristobal Colon and the Vizcaya. 

At 10. 1 1 the Spanish ships had all concentrated their 
shots on the Brooklyn, and she was in a perfect rain of 
shells, most of which went over her. 

Standing in this hail of shells. Commodore Schley asked 
a young man named Ellis, who stood near him with a stedi- 
meter, " What is the distance to the Vizcaya ? " The man 
took the observation. " Twenty-two hundred yards, sir," 
he said, and there was a whistle followed by a splash, as 
Ellis's head was literally torn from his shoulders by an 
eight-inch shell. 

"Too bad," said Commodore Schley, as the body fell at 
his feet ; and then, with his glasses to his eyes, he added, 
"The first ship is done for; she is running ashore." 

The Maria Teresa was running her nose on the beach, 
and in an instant was a mass of flames. The Brooklyn was 
ordered to concentrate her fire on the Almirante Oquendo, 
and, with the Oregon s assistance, in ten minutes more the 



448 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

Oquendo was sent ashore a burning wreck, but a short dis- 
tance from Santiago, The Iowa, in the meantime, had sunk 
one torpedo-boat destroyer, and the other one had been 
driven ashore by the Gloucester'' s terrific rapid fire. 

At 10.49 the Brooklyii turned her attention to the Viz- 
cava, the Cristobal Colon having passed the latter and now 
being in the lead well up the coast. At the time the only 
vessels in sight from the Brooklyn were the Oregon, about 
a mile and a half astern, and the Texas, about three miles 
astern. 

At 1 1. 1 5 the Brooklyn, slightly injured by the hail of 
Spanish shells, stopped firing and the chase began. The 
men came up on deck and began to cheer, never heeding 
the whistle of the Spanish shells. They cheered for Schley 
and Cook and for the Oregon ; and the Oregon s men re- 
turned the cheer. 

Up to the masthead of the Oregon fluttered a line of 
flags. " Remember the Maine,'' read the Brooklyn s signal 
officer. "Tell them we have," said Schley, and there was 
a roar as the answer went up. 

The chase was in full force at 1 1.55 o'clock, the men out 
on the decks watching with great interest and happy as 
larks. The Colon, at a distance of five miles, hueeed the 
shore, but Schley ordered the Oregon to follow her, and 
then, with the Brooklyn, he made a straight course for 
Cape Cruz, around which the Spaniard would have to steer 
on a long detour to get away. 

All three ships were rushing along at great speed, the 
smoke pouring out of their funnels. In an hour the Brook- 
lyn had gained appreciably, and so had the Oregon ; and 
Captain Clark, of the latter ship, signaled over, "A 
strange ship looking like an Italian in the distance." He 
alluded to the fact that the Cristobal Colon was bought 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 449 

from Italy. Schley, sitting on the edge of the forward 8- 
inch turret, swinging his legs and happy, said: "Tell the 
Oregon she can try one of those 13-inch railroad trains on 
her." 

There was a terrible roar as the big shell went by the 
Brooklyn, a moment of suspense and watching and then a 
hearty cheer as the big missile struck the water close astern 
of the Colon, four miles away. Another was tried, which 
reached the mark, and there were more cheers. Then the 
Brooklyti opened her forward and starboard eight-inch guns 
and one shell was seen to go through the Colon at the top 
of her armored belt. 

At 1.05 P.M., both the Brooklyn and the Oregon were 
pounding away at the Colon and, in another ten minutes, 
after returning the fire in a desultory sort of way and rap- 
idly losing ground, she hauled down her flag. With yells 
of delight the men poured out of the turrets of the two 
ships, and, when a boom went up at the mainmast of the 
Brooklyn, they began to cheer and did not stop for ten 
minutes. 

At this time the only ships in sight were the Vixen, about 
five miles away, and the Texas, about seven miles away. 
The New York was not in sight. As the big ships moved 
in on the quarry, the smoke of the New York could be 
seen coming over the horizon from the east, but she was 
fully twelve miles away. A boat was lowered from the 
Brooklyn, and Captain Cook went aboard to receive the 
surrender. The officer in charge said, with tears in his 
eyes, "I surrender unconditionally to Commodore Schley. 
We were badly hurt and could not get away." 

While Captain Cook's boat was coming alongside, the 
Spanish captives shouted, " Bravo Americano," and the 
crew responded, " Bravo Spaniardo." 



450 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

While Captain Cook was returning to the Brooklyn, the 
New York, with Admiral Sampson, came along, ran in be- 
tween the Brooklyn and the prize, and ordered Captain 
Cook to send the prisoners on board the New York. 

Commodore Schley, seeing this, megaphoned over : " I 
request the honor of receiving the surrender of the officers 
of the Cristobal Colon!' 

No answer was vouchsafed him from the New York, and 
the ship that had not fired an effective shot took the hon- 
ors. Commodore Schley then raised the pennant "A glor- 
ious victory has been won, details later." The answer from 
the New York was " Report your casualties." 

The Brooklyn was hit twenty-six times, but only one 
man, G. H. ElHs, was killed, and only one man, J. H. 
Burns, fireman, wounded. 

The Colon went ashore at the place where the Virginius 
expedition tried to land and was captured, years ago. The 
chase had lasted four hours, and the Brooklyn, Oregon, 
Texas and Gloucester had saved the United States fleet 
from the stain of allowing the Spanish vessels to escape — 
the Oregon and the Brooklyn, by their splendid chase and 
gunnery, the Texas by her great work on the first two 
ships, and the Gloucester by her marvelous attack on the 
destroyers. 

" Don't cheer, the poor fellows are dying," was the way 
in which Captain " Jack " Philip, commanding the Texas, 
called his men's attention to the impropriety of cheering 
on such an occasion. It was the same officer who said to 
his men after the victory : 

" I want to make public acknowledgment here that I 
believe in God, the Father Almighty. I want all you 
officers and men to lift your hats and from your hearts to 
give silent thanks." 




ON BOARD THE "BROOKLYN" AT SANTIAGO. 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 453 

It is of such men that our navy is made. 

Admiral Cervera, through the courtesy of the United 
States Government, informed General Blanco of the catas- 
trophe in this language : 
"To the Commanding General of Habana : 

" Acting on your instructions, I left Santiago de Cuba 
yesterday and encountered an American force three times 
the strength of mine. The Infanta Maria Teresa, the 
Almirante Oqnendo, and the Vizcaya w^ere beached and 
burned ; according to an American report, the Cristobal 
Colon was beached further west of Santiago. The Pluton 
and the Furor foundered. The men behaved so bravely 
that they won praise from the Americans. About six hun- 
dred were killed and large numbers were wounded. The 
rest were taken prisoners. All is lost and we need money. 

" Villamil was killed, and probably Lazaya ; Cancas, and 
Eulate were wounded." 

Though this naval action proved decisive, the land attack 
having been begun, it had to be continued. The victory 
added immeasurably to the prestige of the American fleet. 
It destroyed the apprehensions that had been caused by 
two days' hard fighting, in the heat, against strong intrench- 
ments, and made it certain that Santiago must soon fall 
before the superior American forces. 

During this fight Lieutenant Hobson was in Santiago 
with his brave companions. The fighting before Santiago, 
in which our army captured many prisoners, and the catas- 
trophe to Cervera made the Spanish authorities more willing 
to exchange Hobson and his companions. By two o'clock 
on the afternoon of July 6th, the preliminaries were 
arranged, and a Spanish lieutenant and fourteen men were 
exchanged for Hobson and the crew of the Merrimac. As 

they entered the American Hues they were cheered. Men 
26 



454 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

rushed from the trenches to grasp their hands and to cheer 
them. It was an ovation from brave men to brave men. 
They understood each other. The release of the gallant 
naval constructor made it possible to learn why he had not 
succeeded in blocking the channel. The Merrimac had 
been struck by shells, submarine mines had been exploded 
around her, and when it came to placing her in the channel 
it was found that her rudder had been shot away. Though 
the harbor had not been blocked, the exploit of Hobson and 
the crew of the Merrimac lost nothing of its heroism. 

The battle of July ist and 2d really ended the fighting 
before Santiago. There was desultory firing on Sunday, 
the 3d, but that was all. Both sides occupied themselves 
in strengthening their positions. Intrenchments were 
thrown up, and better positions taken, the line of the army 
being drawn closer around the city. Rifle pits were dug, 
and, with the artillery that was coming up, the Spanish 
position was made steadily less tenable. 

On Monday, July 5th, the Spanish cruiser Reina Mercedes, 
which had been disabled by our warships earlier in the 
blockade, was seen drifting out of the harbor. In a moment 
the American fleet opened fire and sank the vessel. Admi- 
ral Sampson, before Cervera's fleet was destroyed, had 
planned to countermine Santiago harbor, and enter and 
give battle to the enemy's ships. When Cervera's ships 
had been whipped the plan was temporarily dispensed with. 

The battles of July i and 2, and the fearful havoc wrought 
by our ships on July 3, made the Spanish position hope- 
less. General Shafter demanded their surrender. The 
Spanish commander, General Toral, asked that the English 
cable operators be permitted to return to Santiago — they 
havincT left before the bombardment — and when this was 
granted he communicated with Captain-General Blanco, in 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 



455 



Havana, asking authority to surrender. This was refused. 
At the request of the foreign consuls, General Toral was 
given until noon, July 6th, to surrender. The delay was 
utilized by the American army in getting its siege guns and 
other artillery from the landing places and in pressing for- 
ward further, General Lawton's division movino- westward 
slowly so as to more completely surround the city. At 
noon, July 6th, General Shafter extended the time to 4 
o'clock Saturday afternoon, July 9th, as General Toral had 
not had sufficient opportunity to consult his government. 

In the meantime, refugees came out in great numbers 
from Santiago, crowded the roads, suffered, spread dis- 
ease, and embarrassed military movements. General 
Shafter's army was still receiving reinforcements, the First 
and Eighth Ohio, Eighth Massachusetts, First and Sixth 
Illinois, and First District of Columbia havinor been sent to 
Santiago, and bringing General Shafter's effective force up 
to some 23,000 men. 

It became evident when General Toral offered, instead of 
a general surrender, to capitulate and march his troops to 
Havana, that his situation was desperate. To this Presi- 
dent McKinley positively refused to agree, despite the fact 
that Generals Shafter and Wheeler looked favorably upon 
it. On Sunday, July loth, the artillery that had been placed 
in position before Santiago, and the warships, began a bom- 
bardment. On Monday it was repeated. The same day 
General Miles arrived, not to succeed General Shafter, but 
to study the ground. 

To General Shafter's second demand for unconditional 
surrender, which was made on Monday, the nth, Gen- 
eral Toral replied on Tuesday, the 12th, that, if Shafter 
wanted Santiago, he must take it. That day saw San- 
tiago completely invested by American troops. The 



456 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

next day General Shafter met the Spanish commander 
between the hnes and told him plainly that he must sur- 
render by noon of July 14th, or fire would be opened 
on the city. 

It was on the 1 4th that Toral, in a second interview, at 
which General Miles was present, agreed to surrender. 
Commissioners were appointed to negotiate terms. Gen- 
eral Escariel, Colonel Fontaine and Mr. Mason, the British 
Vice-Consul, representing Spain, and General Wheeler, 
General Lawton and Lieutenant Miley, the United States. 
The commissioners parleyed, the Spaniards trying to gain by 
delay, until the conditions of capitulation were signed. Gen- 
eral Shafter informed the war department in this bulletin : 

" Headquarters near Santiago, July 16. 
" Adjutant-General U. S. Army, Washington. 

"The conditions of capitulation include all forces and war material in de- 
scribed territory. The United States agrees, with as little delay as possible, to 
transport all Spanish troops in district to Kingdom of Spain, the troops, as far 
as possible, to embark near to the garrison they now occupy. Officers to retain 
their side arms, and officers and men to retain their personal property. Spanish 
authorized to take military archives belonging to surrendered district. All 
Spanish forces known as volunteers, Moirilizadves, and guerillas who wish to 
remain in Cuba may do so under parole during present war, giving up their 
arms. Spanish forces march out of Santiago with honors of war, depositing 
their arms at a point mutually agreed upon, to await disposition of the United 
States Government, it being understood United States Commissioners will re- 
commend that the Spanish soldiers return to Spain with arms so bravely defended. 
This leaves the question of return of arms entirely in the hands of the Govern- 
ment. I invite attention to the fact that several thousand surrendered, said by 
General Toral to be about 12,000, against whom a shot has not been fired. The 
return to Spain of the troops in this district amounts to above 24,000, according 
to General Toral. " W. R. Shafter, Major General." 

President McKinley therefore congratulated the victor- 
ious army as follows : 

"To General Shafter, Commanding, Front, near Santiago, Playa. 

"The President of the United States sends to you and your brave army the 
profound thanks of the American people for the brilliant achievements at San- 
tiago, resulting in tlie surrender of the city and all of the Spanish troops and 
territory under General Toral. Your splendid command has endured not only 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 457 

the hardships and sacrifices incident to the campaign and battle, but, in stress ol 
heat and weather, has triumphed over obstacles which would have overcome 
men less brave and determined. One and all have displayed the most con- 
spicuous gallantry and earned the gratitude of the Nation. The hearts of the 
people turn with tender sympathy to the sick and the wounded. May the 
Father of Mercies protect and comfort them. William McKinley." 

To that General Shafter replied in this manner : 

''Camp near Santiago, July 16. 
" To the President. 

" I thank you, and my army thank you, for your congratulatory telegram of 
to-day. I am proud to say every one in it performed his duty gallantly. Your 
message will be read to every regiment in the army at noon to-morrow. 

"Shafter, Major-General." 

On Sunday, July 17th, General Shafter announced the 
occupation of Santiago as follows : 

" Santiago de Cuba, July 17. 
" Adjutant-General U. S. A., Washington : 

" I have the honor to announce that the American flag has been this instant, 
12 o'clock noon, hoisted over the house of the civil government in the city of 
Santiago. An immense concourse of people present. A squadron of cavalry 
and a regiment of infantry presenting arms and band playing national airs. 
Light battery fired salute twenty one guns. Perfect order is being maintained 
by municipal government. Distress is very great, but little sickness in town. 
Scarcely any yellow fever. A small gunboat and about two hundred seamen 
left by Cervera have surrendered to me. Obstructions are being removed from 
the mouth of harbor. Upon coming into the city I discovered a perfect entan- 
glement of defence. Fighting as the Spaniards did the first day it would have 
cost five thousand lives to have taken it. Battalion of Spanish troops deposit- 
ing arms since daylight in armory, over which I have a guard. General Toral 
formally surrendered the Plaza and all stores at 9 a. m. 

" W. R. Shafter, Major-General." 

Thus, a month and three days after the army sailed from 
the Florida coast, the city of Santiago, twenty-four thousand 
prisoners, and the eastern end of Cuba, from Acerradero 
on the south, to Sagua de Tunamo on the north, were in 
American hands ; the great Spanish fleet was destroyed, and 
Spain's power on sea and land broken. The result was 
worth all the cost in men and money. The campaign 
against Santiago was a most remarkable one because of the 



458 THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

intrepid fighting of the American troops practically unsup- 
ported by artillery. It showed the bravery of the volun- 
teers as well as the regulars. It made more apparent the 
superior gunnery and discipline of our navy. It was 
one of the most notable surrenders in history, due as 
much to President McKinley as to any American gen- 
eral, for it was the President who insisted on a sur- 
render practically without conditions. The campaign 
added new lustre to American arms and gave the world 
an important lesson in the fighting qualities of the Amer- 
ican soldiers. 

A great victory had been won against an enemy strongly 
entrenched, in a tropical climate, during the rainy season 
and the hottest time of year. The sun baked those who 
went under its rays, and the cold nights chilled them. The 
hardships suffered by our troops were of the severest, but 
the men stormed El Caney and San Juan and did every 
duty bravely and uncomplainingly. 

After the surrender of Santiago the work of the blockad- 
ing squadron was not yet completed. There were several 
strategic points to be reduced to submission. 

On the morning of July i8th, seven American warships 
appeared before Manzanillo, on the western coast of the 
Province of Santiago de Cuba. They were the following 
vessels of the blockading squadron : The Wilmington, 
Helena, Scorpion, Hist, Hornet, Wa7J2patuck and Osceola. 

At half-past 7 the Wihnington and Helena entered the 
northern channel, toward the city; the Scoj'pion and the 
Osceola the mid-channel, and the Hist, Hornet and Wam- 
patuck the south channel, the movements of the vessels 
being so timed as to bring them all within effective range 
of the shipping at about the same moment. 

There was a large force of Spanish troops stationed 



THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 



459 



there, and among other shipping in the harbor there were 
three transports: the El Gloria, Jose Garcia and La Puris- 
sima Concepcion. 

At 7.50 fire was opened on the shipping. After a dehb- 
erate cannonade, lasting about two and a half hours, the 
three transports were sunk, and the storehouses and maga- 
zines were blown up. The Spanish troops, on shore, 
opened a lively fire with their artillery. 

Commander Todd, of the Wilmington, in the following 
words, tells of the attack which quickly brought the place 
to terms : 

" The firing was maintained at a range which is believed 
to be beyond the range of the shore artillery. It was con- 
tinued until, after a gradual closing in, the shore batteries 
opened fire at a comparatively short range, when the ships 
were recalled, the object of the expedition having been 
accomplished, and the ideas of the commander-in-chief car- 
ried out as I u nderstood them — that is, to destroy the enemy's 
shipping, but not to engage the field batteries or forts, 

"No casualties occurred on board any of our vessels. 
Great care was taken in directing the fire that as little dam- 
age as possible should be done to the city itself, and so far 
as could be observed, little, if any, was done." 

The Pontoon, which was the harbor guard and store-shop, 
probably for ammunition, was burned. 

On the northern coast, another expedition had been sent 
to destroy the Spanish defences at Nipe. The following 
despatch, from Admiral Sampson, July 2 2d, show the re- 
sult of that expedition : 

" Playa del Este, July 22. 

"Expedition to Nipe (northern coast of Cuba) has been entirely successful, 
although the mines have not been removed for want of time. 

" The Spanish cr\ii%cr , Jorge Juan , defending the place, was destroyed with- 
out loss on our part. 



46o THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN. 

" The Annapolis and Wasp afterward proceeded from Nipe to assist in the 
landing of the commanding general of the army on arrival at Porto Rico. 

" Sampson." 
AN IMPORTANT POINT CARRIED. 

The Bay of Nipe lies on the north coast of Cuba, in the 
province of Santiago, almost directly across the island from 
Santiago, and west and outside of the territory surrounded. 
It is purposed to establish a base there, which will save at 
least two days' time in getting supplies into Cuba as com- 
pared with the Santiago route. 

It will also form a good point of operation against Hol- 
guin, not far distant, and if it should develop, unfortunately, 
that a restraining hand must be laid upon the Cubans 
themselves, Nipe, in connection with Santiago, would 
afford effective means of doing this. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 

The Power of Our Country Lies in the Intelligence of Our Citizens and Our 
Great Wealth — The Quality of our Fighting Stock Made up Largely of 
Raw Recruits, Shows a Remarkable Development of Heroism — The Bat- 
tle of Manila, and the Sinking of the Merrimac at Santiago are Samples 
of American Strategy — Europe again Recognizes Our Almost Forgotten 
Fighting Qualities. 

On the 8th of March Congress appropriated ^50,000,000 
for the National Defence, and on the 25th of May Adjutant- 
General Corbin stated, that when the army of the United 
States was fully organized under existing authority, includ- 
ing the last call for 75,000 volunteers, it would consist of 
278,500 men, divided as follows : 

Regular army 62,000 

Volunteers from States and Territories 200,000 

Three cavalry regiments at large 3,000 

Ten infantry regiments of United States volunteers (immunes), 10,000 
Engineers at large 3.500 

Total 278,500 

Public opinion in the United States undervalued the 
power of Spain in a defensive struggle, and did not, for 
some time, realize the fact stated by General Fitzhugh Lee, 
that the Spanish army in Cuba was larger than any ever 
sent so far from home to carry on war. Spain had shipped 
more than two hundred thousand of her young men, con- 
scripted to conquer the Cuban rebellion, and there is not 
included, in this estimate, the Spanish Volunteers, sent 
to Cuba to hold situations and find exemption, in three 

years' volunteer service as Cuban Militia, from five years 

461 



462 OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 

regular military duty. There were not less than forty thou- 
sand of the Cuban Volunteers, as they are called. They 
chose to be home guards in the cities of Cuba, rather than 
in the regular army, and were the most radical and relentless 
of the Spaniards. They had the peculiarity of being better 
drilled than the regulars, and as they carried their guns and 
cartridges home, they could not be disarmed without search- 
ing from house to house. As a rule they had the physical 
strength to be masters of Havana, and the one organiza- 
tion feared by the Governor-General. Add them to the 
regular Spanish Army sent to Cuba, and also include the 
seamen serving in the Navy, and there was a force of more 
than a quarter of a million men, phenomenally incompetent 
in aggressive warfare, but of a brave and pugnacious race, 
and no doubt, armed as they were with excellent rifles, and 
sustained by numerous field batteries — one hundred and 
eighty guns is the latest report accessible — they were ex- 
pected to be formidable as defenders of positions. The 
Cuban insurgents have seemed, to the world, much stronger 
than they were in reality, because they had kept the field in 
the face of the immense forces of the Spaniards. They 
had inherited the art of gruerrilla v.'arfare, and the wonder- 
ful vegetation of Cuba, the almost impenetrable forests and 
swamps, and inaccessible mountains, had made nine-tenths 
of the island a vast fortress. The fame of the agricultural 
products of Cuba has been deceptive as to the extent of 
the areas of cultivation, for less than one-fifteenth of the 
surface has been included in the fields. It is fortunate that 
the President was cautious and deliberative, for there was 
the possibility of rash precipitations into grave dangers, or 
the adoption of the plans of campaign upon false impres- 
sions, inflamed imaginations, and miscalculations. 

The startling victory won on the other side of the world 



OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 463 

by Admiral Dewey, kindled the blood, and its glorious 
magic exalted the nation. The people largely, in the mag- 
netic and inspiring illumination of triumph, were forgetful 
that we might search the records of a thousand years of 
wars on the seas, without finding the story of another such 
glory, and there was again required the solid qualities of 
sober judgment to labor and wait for the army to be, as the 
army men say, " set up." 

Often during our controversies with Spain about Cuba, 
attention was drawn to the risings against Spanish rule in 
the Philippine Islands, but it did not occur to the average 
citizen that we should ever be very gravely concerned 
about that Asiatic archipelago. Within a day or two after 
the declaration of war against Spain, it became vaguely 
known that important orders had been sent to our fleet at 
Hong-Kong, which had been assembled there to repre- 
sent our interests during the progress of the partition 
of China ; Russia practically insisting upon acquiring 
an important strip of territory; England, France, and 
Germany urging that they must have compensation, Eng- 
land's position being the more legitimate, on account of her 
very extensive commercial relations with the people of 
China, and her attitude favoring the freedom of the ports. 
The German Emperor manifested his great solicitude by 
sendinor his brother to China and usine the evident ambi- 
tion of other nations, and his own imperial concern to arouse 
German sentiment in favor of the increase of his navy. 
Though there had been many shadows of coming events 
cast before, in that part of the globe, Americans had not 
realized that they were to be chief actors in the great drama 
played in the Orient — it is Oriental if we look upon it from 
our Atlantic coast, or Occidental if we look at it from the 
Pacific shore — until our war with Spain opened with a clap 



464 0^^ NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 

of thunaer at Manila, within a week after the order had 
been despatched by the President, to Admiral Dewey, to 
attack and destroy the Spanish fleet. Primarily this was to 
protect our commerce — politically it is the beginning of 
great things, the opening of an era of revolutionary progress. 
We were not prepared at home for such rapid strokes as 
those delivered on the other side of the world by Admiral 
Dewey. The Spaniards in Cuba, upon the abandonment 
of their alleged offensive operations, were able, by giving 
up a multitude of minor points, to assemble forces on the 
lines of the railroads and by the sea in western provinces, 
not far from one hundred thousand strong. This takes 
into account the volunteers, who were a better drilled and 
equipped body of troops than the regulars. It did not 
seem to be a reasonable movement to make, even in the 
light of our Manila experience, to depend upon an available 
force of fifteen thousand regulars to attack from five to 
seven times as many Spaniards with a superior array of 
artillery behind breastworks. Neither did it seem well to 
throw our volunteers, however admirable their individual 
characteristics, into a campaign of invasion before they had 
been hardened into a compact organization. It was the 
opinion of our consuls in Cuba, including General Lee, that 
the Spanish army^ having been sustained chiefly on imported 
food, had not succeeded in gathering stores of supplies that 
would enable them to endure a blockade for more than a 
month. Evidently the Spaniards had been more thought- 
ful and active in gathering rations than our consuls believed, 
and not sufficient account had been taken of the extraordi- 
nary fertility of the soil of the island, which can be made to 
yield three crops a year, all sorts of food, except that which 
is preferred for army use. A diet of Cuban fruit and vege- 
tables is, according to experience, productive of fevers. 



OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 465 

The first war business was to apply rigorously the blockade, 
and there was this compensation for the passing time — 
each week perceptibly, and in the judgment of military men, 
both at home and abroad, essentially improved our troops. 
The first instances of the state of hostilities was the capture 
of Spanish prizes. Then a French steamer insisted upon 
breaking the blockade at Havana, and owing to the lack of 
intelligent politeness in her commander, she was taken to 
Key West, and released by order of our Government, as she 
had official permission to enter the harbor. The first guns 
fired by Spain at the flag of the United States, in defence of 
colonial rights in the island, was from the famous Morro Cas- 
tle, and they were harmless. No reply was made at the time. 
Hence the unwarrantable phrase, "a pacific blockade." 
Until we knew the ability of Spain's fleet, and whether 
her policy was to make the fight for Cuba a naval one, it 
would have been an unwise act to have met the pop- 
ular demand for a bombardment of Havana, by testing 
the comparative strength of our battleships against the bat- 
teries that guard that city. We could hardly have destroyed 
the fortifications without serious injuries to some of our 
vessels, and the loss of a few ships or their temporary dis- 
ability might nave given the Spanish squadrons, had they 
been united, a dangerous preponderance, especially as the 
Oregon had not yet arrived. One of the events that has 
attracted the attention of the seamen of the world has been 
the voyage of that ship from California to Florida, passing 
around Cape Horn and all the West India islands, more 
than fourteen thousand miles, at good speed and without 
accident. American mechanics have reason to take pride 
in the work of their hands upon this noble boat. As our 
squadrons were feeling along the shores of Cuba, they were 
fired upon occasionally, and the first marked case of return- 



466 OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 

ing the compliment was at Matanzas, where a furious 
cannonade, for some time, served a good purpose as target 
practice — gave our battleships a baptism of fire without 
doing them any harm, and was of value to the officers and 
crew as an experience. There is a natural anxiety in the 
men enlisted for war to smell gunpowder that is burned in 
earnest, and hear the humming of cannon balls. It should 
soothe the nerves and teach composure. 

On May 12th two telegrams were received by the Sec- 
retary of the Navy, one from Admiral Dewey, stating there 
was little change in the situation, and he was " transfer- 
ring to transports, steel breech-loading rifles from sunken 
Spanish men-of-war ; " also, stores from the arsenal in his 
possession, and maintaining strict blockade. The other 
despatch was from Key West, announcing that in an action 
in Cardenas harbor five of the crew of the torpedo boat 
Winslozu were killed and three wounded. Killed : Worth 
Bagley, ensign, U. S. N. ; John Varveres, oiler ; John Den- 
fee, fireman, first-class; George B. Meek, fireman, first-class; 
Elijah B. Tunnell, cabin cook. Wounded : J. S. Bernadou, 
lieutenant, commanding Wi7islow ; William Patterson, seri- 
ously, but not fatally ; Daniel McKeown, quartermaster, 
first-class, slightly. 

The Winslow was badly damaged, and would have been 
captured if it had not been for the heroic handling of the 
auxiliary tug Hudson. Ensign Worth Bagley, of North 
Carolina, killed in this affair, was the first of our country- 
men to fall in the war. The shell that killed him gave his 
name to the roll of immortals. It may be said of him, as 
Longfellow said of Burns: "That early death gave him 
immortal youth." Ensign Bagley's letters to his mother, 
written a few days before his death, have been published, 
and are described as brave, true, and tender. The extracts 



OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 



467 



following are warrant for this characterization. They 
are worthy to touch all hearts through all time. He 
wrote : 

" I will not run into any danger I don't think proper, but 
can't promise you anything else ; don't you know what I 
mean, dear? Still, I will think of you all the time. 

" It was so sweet of you to remember me on my birthday. 
I was so busy that day that I didn't know it was my birth- 
day till three in the afternoon. The pipe is a beauty; being 
your present, it will make many a peaceful, happy smoke for 
me, whenever I smoke it. 

"The little yellow buds you put in your last letter made 
me think of our front porch at home, and of how beautiful 
it must be now with its wealth of them. 

" You need have no fears about me, for there is no dan- 
ger for us now. There may be when the Spanish fleet 
comes, but I am sorry to say that I fear that will never be. 
A war comes only once in a generation, and it will be very 
hard if I can get no chance, to do some unusual service, so 
it is very disappointing to have no tangible enemy to meet. 
You are a brave mother, so you must feel like I do when- 
ever we are engaged in any thing at all dangerous — enjoy 
the excitement: feel that, but nothing more. Thank Heaven 
I have found that I have no fear, for I have analyzed all my 
feelings in danger. Don't repeat that ; it would be a boast 
to any one but you. Your last letter made me feel so 
happy, and I am so proud to receive your praise, to feel 
that never have I 'given you an hour's trouble or unhap- 
piness.' To hear you say that, dear angel, is more to me 
than any ambition in this world. 

" Do you ever think that I have no heart to love because 
I follow a profession that keeps me nearly always from you ? 
J know that you never do feel so, for you know I love you. 



468 OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 

Sometimes I remember and think of how you always love 
to have us children tell you how much we love you. 

" Good-by for a short space. This letter is hurried, for 
there is a great deal that I must do. Love to every one. 
Good-by for a few days. Devotedly." 

Porto Rico has more and more commended itself to 
those students of the situation who have serious responsi- 
bility and cool judgment, as a place where it would be well 
to strike a blow. The island is about two-thirds the size of 
the State of Connecticut, and is more extensively cultivated 
and largely populated, in proportion to its extent, than 
Cuba, which is the same size as the State of New York. 
Commodore Sampson visited the principal port, San Juan, 
and indulged in a thunderous target practice, giving the 
people to understand that the American navy was not on a 
pacific mission, and trying thoroughly the substantial quali- 
ties of our battleships to withstand the shock of firing their 
tremendous guns. It was for a time held by many of the 
organs of public opinion, that it could hardly be claimed 
war existed without the sound of cannonadinor in the West 
Indies, however ineffectual the noise ; but the people are 
getting over those phases of imaginary interest, and are 
able to discover that war is not a gay festivity but a 
grave and bitter business. There has been dissatisfaction 
because the Spanish Admiral Cervera, who appeared so 
suddenly in the West Indies after he was believed to be in 
Cadiz, was able, for a time, to elude our superior fleets. 
There is nothing novel, in naval experience, in losing an 
enemy on the wide wastes of the ocean. Lord Nelson 
missed the French fleet in the Mediterranean until it 
anchored at Aboukir, and running across the Atlantic from 
Gibraltar to the Windward Islands, he sought and failed 
to find another French fleet. Perhaps the Spanish Admiral 




MEN OF SPAIN. 



w 






■'^S^3a» 



'i,>*\f'>A. 




THi: MC.HTINC. "OREGON" AT SANTIAGO. 



OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 471 

was serviceable to us if he delayed us in the embarkation 
of troops, for when he appeared at the scenes of warfare, 
the American army certainly was not in as good condition 
to move as was desirable. Each day's delay told for us. 
The bottoms of his ships became grassy ; his coal-bunkers 
and his food supply scanty ; the Cadiz fleet didn't come. 
He had to retreat or meet his fate on the high seas, and so 
ran into that deep pocket, the harbor of Santiago, the old 
capital of Cuba, the home now of the head of the church 
on the island, the scene of the Virginius massacre, situated 
in the eastern province of Cuba, where the insurgents are 
most numerous. The capacity of the Admiral to conceal 
himself was so clever that he was able, for some days, to 
make a mystery of his disappearance, and the fact that he 
could perplex the American people seems to have been a 
comfort to the Spaniards at large. 

We have some occasion to be under obligation to this 
wandering Spaniard who may, some day, be as famous as 
the "Flying Dutchman." 

The war came on between the United States and Spain, 

finding both nations unprepared, though they had been, for 

a generation, aware that the current of events was carrying 

them slowly but certainly into conditions of collision. For 

three years they have been bound to "shoot Niagara," as 

Thomas Carlyle phrased it. The unpreparedness of Spain 

for a conflict with a greater power was in the exhaustion of 

her energies. She had attempted, about a year ago, to cut 

fn two the interest on her national debt and was obliged to 

put up collateral in order to raise money for war expenses. 

Her soldiers were unpaid, and her ships unready. She had 

sent the masses of her army across the Atlantic. She had 

changed premiers and captain-generals, but not her character 

or her system. She had lost Cuba, but had not the courage 
27 



472 OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 

to confess the fact, or the strength or address to rid herself 
of the colony that consumed her vital forces. The sole pre- 
paration she was able to make for war, so far as has ap- 
peared, was in sending to Cuba a considerable number of 
pieces of artillery of German manufacture, some English 
mines for the defence of harbors, and a considerable supply 
of fixed ammunition and Mauser rifles, and she had also 
managed an accumulation of provisions in the shipment of 
meats and a variety of canned vegetables, especially beans, 
from New York. Her navy contained but one first-class 
battleship and that not ready to put to sea, a few heavily 
armed cruisers of good speed and fairly well provided, 
and a swarm of lighter vessels held in high estimation, not 
justified by efficiency in guarding the coast of Cuba against 
filibusters, and that has not appeared in the furtive dashes 
made in tentative rushes out of their harbors. 

We of the United States had been interested, according 
to our public intelligence, for several years, in the improve- 
ment of our navy. This seems to have occurred because 
about the time of the conclusion of our war of states and 
sections the building of navies was in a transition state, 
and the old ships with which the southern ports were 
blockaded during the period of the confederacy, so entirely 
out of date, that we were compelled to apply ourselves to 
the construction of modern vessels or be utterly unarmed 
for the simplest defensive purposes, as opposed even to 
second and third rate powers. We had the advantage of 
highly educated naval officers, many of whom had instructive 
experiences of war, and a series of secretaries of the navy, 
enlightened gentlemen who took a business and patriotic 
interest in the affairs of the department. This combination 
was enabled to enjoy the advantage of costly experiments 
made in the building of ships of war by all the great powers 



OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 473 

of Europe ; and the object lesson of the war between Japan 
and China was not lost. The country was greatly pleased 
with the White Squadron, which made a striking display 
and excellent impression in foreign waters. The recollec- 
tions of the people of the glories of the navy in our succes- 
sive wars were revived— an interest both historic and 
romantic aroused in the enterprises and adventures on the 
seas in other days. Healthy public opinion was formed 
that supported a liberal line of expenditure in ship-building. 
The common sense of the nation required that we should 
not only build ships of war, but give attention to coast 
defences, at least to mark out the fortifications that must 
be, in case we should offend some armed nation that mio-ht 
care to take advantage of our exposure to the ravages of 
the sea-board. A great deal of work was cut out and very 
little done, but our capacity for self-government manifested 
itself in an imperative mood of the people for the extensive 
manufacture of high-power guns. We had waited, with an 
enormous stock of the old cast-iron artillery on hand when 
our war of the north and south closed, and our experts, 
educated at West Point and Annapolis, kept watch upon 
the productions of foreign foundries until, when we set about 
making provision of modern artillery, we knew what to do 
and had the men to do it, and got, in various stages of 
readiness, a supply of the best guns in the world — some of 
them on our ships and others in coast defences — the greater 
number in the course of painstaking construction. When 
we came to blows with Spain we had half-a-dozen first rate 
battleships, a score of cruisers in good form, excellent 
specimens of their class, and were behind in war-boats of 
exceptional swiftness and lacking in the torpedo-destroyers, 
with which Spain was believed to be well provided. We 
made a few fortunate purchases of fighting ships abroad 



474 



OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 



and of yachts at home, readily convertible into light and 
searching craft, certainly equal, as they are manned, to any- 
thing in the Spanish navy, while our four splendid trans- 
Atlantic liners were quickly put in order to answer, in asso- 
ciation with our battleships and cruisers, the purpose as- 
signed in the navies of the last centuries and generation, to 
the frigates — that of being " the eyes " of fleets of ships of 
the line. Some of the old monitors with new guns aboard 
commended themselves to the general judgment, and we 
have some of a later pattern from which, no doubt, there will 
be good reports. It was not the opinion of Europe at first 
that our navy out-classed that of Spain, but that it did so, 
became conspicuous before the world in the battle of Manila. 
We had sadly neglected the army. There had been 
many reports of an official character showing that it ought 
to be re-organized and enlarged — not that we want a great 
standing army, but that we might have the nucleus of a 
competent force of defenders. There had been vain efforts 
to provide additional batteries of artillery, and the dema- 
gogy of the country had largely taken ground against the 
increase of military forces. Fortunately, the character of 
the army had steadily improved for more than ten years. 
The material of the regulars was much better than formerly. 
Desertions, once the sin and shame of the army, were re- 
duced to a very small percentage. A greater proportion 
than ever of soldiers were Americans — thoroughly so — and 
their drill up to the highest standard. These facts were 
not prominent in the minds of the people, and those who 
knew them did not rate them as of a high degree of im- 
portance. It was a common saying that war was not our 
business ; we could depend on volunteers, if we had a 
war ; we did not want soldiers for police purposes, and 
it was not public policy to employ United States regulars 



OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 475 

for the suppression of disorders unless they extended over 
several States and interfered with the rights of the people 
at large. As for such causes of necessity, to employ regular 
rifles and bayonets and batteries, our history, for more than 
a century, was proof that cases warranting the interference 
of the arms of the nation in controlling mobs were rare, 
and not likely to become abundant. The army had not the 
place it deserved in the public confidence and affectionate 
regard. It was of the best material, thoroughly disciplined, 
trained in marksmanship, armed with the Krag-Jorgensen 
rifle, but very small. The first stirring testimony given 
that the army was a weapon of good temper and might be 
handled to strike telling blows, was in the speedy concen- 
tration of the regulars when the orders were given. The 
posts occupied by the troops were scattered throughout an 
area of territory as great as continental Europe, but in less 
than a week every regiment was in the place to which it had 
been ordered, fully equipped — prepared in every respect 
for the field. The ammunition and provisions, the field 
guns, the tents and the wagons, were, by the magic of our 
vast railroad system, picked up from the remotest parts of 
the country and put down where they were wanted. We 
could have thrown fifteen thousand regulars into Cuba, but 
no more ; and there was not a volunteer regiment ready to 
go into service, as an invading force, to meet regular troops 
for several weeks. We had not lost the military spirit of 
the country — that never burned higher or clearer, or was 
more fervid and formidable than we found it at once — but 
there was need of organization and an incredible number 
of details to determine. Constant complaints have been 
coming from the camps, of lack of food, water, proper cloth- 
ing, and shelter. There has been a basis of fact for what 
has been said of deficiencies. It has taken some time to 



476 OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 

realize that a war camp is not a picnic. We did not have, 
at the start, field artillery to cope with Blanco's one hun- 
dred and eighty guns. It took some time to make up a 
siege train, an indispensable prerequisite to besieging cities. 
There was little clothing of a character suitable to be worn 
by soldiers in the tropics, and a small quantity of material 
on hand of the kind wanted. The nation had not, of course, 
lost the art of war, but the new generation had no exper- 
ience of it, and of the crack regiments of volunteers in 
camp, an astonishing number were unfamiliar with the 
weapons they were called upon to handle. In one body of 
a thousand men, more than three hundred and fifty were 
found who never had fired a gun. Men suffered for lack 
of food because the officers, whose duty it was to make 
requisitions for it, did not know how to do it. Men of the 
best intelligence, entirely inexperienced in camp life, did 
not know how to parch coffee, and make that beverage for 
themselves, neither did they know what to do with raw beef, 
issued in rations ; that would astonish the soldiers of other 
nations. • Old soldiers know what to do with a handful of 
green coffee and a slice of fat pork or raw beef. However 
rude their cooking utensils, none of the food is allowed to 
get away. There has been a lack of water supply, bitterly 
complained of. Dismal stories have come from the camp 
at Chickamauga, and there are the famous Crawfish Springs 
pouring out fifty millions of gallons per day, and twenty- 
one artesian wells from eighty to one hundred and forty 
feet deep, the water rising to within four feet of the surface, 
and each fitted with a force pump. It was necessary to 
haul water. The first obvious need was wagons ; the 
second was horses ; the third was harness ; the fourth was 
barrels, and thirst had to be endured for a week, in some 
of the camps, before these things could be got together. 



OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 



477 



When war was declared, we were fearfully and wonderfully 
unprepared for it. 

The remarkable good fighting stock of our country was 
not, however, in the least, demoralized by the eventualities 
preceding the more perfect organization, and it was soon 
shown that, though they were slow, to an extent, in orga- 
nizing, they were quick fighters. 

At Manila, Santiago de Cuba, Porto Rico and at Havana 
they would soon show their fighting qualities. It is the 
old cool-headed race, deliberate, full of energy, and des- 
tined to be the victors, though the blood of some of their 
comrades must enrich the soil of the lands contested. 

It was supposed that the first point of attack on Cuba 
would be made in the vicinity of Havana, and that troops 
would be landed principally at Matanzas, but the move- 
ments of Cervera's fleet and its final location at Santiago 
de Cuba, changed the situation. The squadrons of Samp- 
son and Schley were concentrated at the extremely south- 
eastern coast of Cuba, and instead of an attack on Havana, 
Santiago de Cuba became the objective point of our 
military and naval energies. The most heroic event 
in connection with the attack on the harbor of Santiago 
was the blocking of the channel by the sinking of the 
Mevj'imac. 

Lieutenant Hobson's dash into Santiago harbor on the 
Merrimac was as daringly planned, as it was heroically ex- 
ecuted. The brave young naval constructor succeeded in 
sinkinof the steamer in the channel, and he and his brave 
companions are no less heroes, though they did not com- 
pletely block the harbor entrance. 

Hobson sailed into the harbor at full speed, and when 
well past the batteries, in the narrowest part of the channel, 
he exploded the torpedoes on board, thereby sinking his 



478 OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 

vessel and escaped on a raft, with his heroic crew. The 
torpedoes were placed on her side against her bulk-heads 
and vital spots, connected with each other by a wire under 
the ship's keel. Each torpedo contained over eighty- 
two pounds of gunpowder. Four men and Lieutenant 
Hobson were on deck, while two of the crew had charge 
of the engine. This was the total crew, and all of 
the men were in their underclothing, with revolvers and 
ammunition in water-tight packing, strapped around their 
waists. Forward stood one man on deck with a line at- 
tached around his waist, the end of which was made fast to 
the bridge where stood the lieutenant. This man, acting 
as lookout, also had with him an axe. When Hobson or- 
dered the engines stopped he jerked this cord, thus giving 
a signal to the man in the bow to cut the lashing which 
held the forward anchor. This man then jumped overboard, 
swimming to the four-oared dingy. The dingy was full of 
life-buoys, and unsinkable. In it were rifles. The first 
man to reach her was to pull out to the starboard. This 
he did, and the rest of the crew left the ship, the quarter- 
master, at the wheel, after having put it hard aport and 
lashed it so. The two men in charo^e of the eno-ine broke 
open the sea connection with a sledge hammer, and then, 
rushing on deck, they jumped overboard. This last step 
insured the sinking of the Merrimac whether the torpedoes 
worked or not. By this time the six men were in the 
dingy and the Merrimac swung athwart the channel at her 
full lenofth. Then all that was left to do was to touch the 
button and get off to the boat without delay. There was 
an explosion and a splash ; Hobson was making for the 
dingy, and the Mei^rimac went to the bottom. 

Ensign Powell was the last man to see Lieutenant Hob- 
son before his start. He had charge of the launch that 



OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 479 

followed the Merrimac during her perilous trip, and tells 
the following story : 

" On the night before this daring event, Lieutenant Hob^ 
son took a short sleep for a few hours. At quarter of two 
he came on deck and made a final inspection. At 2.30 
o'clock I took the men who were not going on the trip 
into the launch. I shook hands with Hobson last of all. 
He said : ' Powell, watch the boat's crew when we pull out 
of the harbor. We will be cracks, rowing thirty strokes to 
the minute.' After landing the men on board the Texas, I 
saw the Merrimac steaming slowly. It was only fairly dark 
then. We followed about three quarters of a mile astern. 
The Merrimac was a mile to the westward of the harbor 
and seemed to be a bit mixed. Turning completely around 
and finally heading to the east, she ran down and then 
turned in. We were then chasino- them because we 
thought Hobson had lost his bearings. When Hobson 
was about two hundred yards from the harbor the first gun 
was fired. We were then about half a mile off shore and 
near the batteries. We steamed in slowly and lost sight 
of the Merrimac in the smoke which the wind carried off 
shore. Before Hobson could have blown up th^ Merrimac, 
the western battery picked us up and commenced fire. 
They shot wild, however, and we ran in still closer to the 
shore. The gunners finally lost sight of us. Then we 
heard the explosion of the Merrimac. Until daylight we 
waited just outside of the breakers, half a mile to the west- 
ward of Morro, keeping a sharp lookout for the boat or 
swimmers, but saw nothing. Hobson had arranged to 
meet us at that point, but thinking that some one might 
have drifted out, we crossed in front of Morro at the mouth 
of the harbor to the westward. At about five o'clock, we 
cro'>sed the harbor again within one quarter of a mile and 



48o OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 

Stood to the westward. In passing- we saw one spar of the 
Merrimac sticking- out of the harbor. We held the shore 
just outside the breakers for a mile, and then turned toward 
the Texas, when the batteries saw us and opened fire. We 
drove the launch for all she was worth, finally making the 
New York without a mishap." It developed that, with 
great bravery, Ensign Powell had gone right under the 
batteries when all hope of taking on board the crew of the 
Merrimac had to be abandoned. 

The official report of this event is here given : 

Mole, Hayti, June 4. 
Long, Washington : 

Succeeded in sinking Merrimac in the channel of Santiago at 4 A. M., June 
3. This was carried out most gallantly under the command of Naval Con- 
structor Hobson and six men. By a flag of truce from the Spanish Admiral, 
Cervera, sent in recognition of their bravery, 1 am informed all are prisoners 
of war, two slightly wounded. Request authority to approve exchange, if pos- 
sible, between these and the prisoners at Atlanta. Six of the Spanish squadron 
in the Harbor of Santiago, unable to avoid being captured or destroyed, 

Sampson. 

The men with Hobson were George Charette, Oscar 
Deignan, John Kelly, Daniel Montague, J. E. Murphy, John 
P. Phillips. The Merrimac was a steel single screw 
steamer, built at Newcastle, England, in 1894; rebuilt 
in New York last year, the work completed in November. 
She was a staunch ship of the highest class in the British 
Lloyds and in the American record — 330 feet long, beam 
44 feet, displacement 7,500 tons with two complete steel 
decks. The last seen of her, one of her spars was sticking 
out of the water. Her depth, from deck to keel, is 30 feet, 
and she rests in the narrowest part of the channel, broad- 
side on. 

One of the reasons why the Merrimac did not block the 
channel may be taken from the statement of Admiral 



OUR NATIONAL DEFENCE AND HEROISM. 481 

Dewey in relation to the Spanish naval charts, which he 
reports very unreliable, having found a greater depth by 
sixteen feet in the harbor of Manila than the Spanish of- 
ficial survey reported. 

The courtesy of Admiral Cervera in sending his chief of 
staff to Commodore Sampson to assure him of the safety 
of naval-constructor Hobson and his party — this, as an 
expression of admiration for the bravery of the young 
Americans — will do more for the honor of the arms of Spain 
in the good opinion of the enlightened nations, than she 
could have gained from a military or naval success, and 
soften the expression of the just animosity of millions 
offended by her barbarous and ruinous colonial policy. The 
American navy has recorded two splendid victories at Manila 
and Santiago, to be always contrasted with the tragedy at 
Cardenas. The war has already given the nation, through 
its fleets, riches of glory worth infinitely more than its cost, 
for that which has been is but a sign of the greater things 
to be ; and the reputation America has gained in this war 
has brightened her fame around the globe, and will make 
for peace with honor, in ages to come. 

In the letter of Raymond Carranza, late of the Spanish 
legation, we have the advantag-e of readino- the inner con- 
sciousness of an intelligent enemy. He tells that the 
Spaniards have nothing to gain, and may lose their three 
great colonies and be ruined for half a century. He is so 
anxious about the financial situation that he criticises se- 
verely the Bank of Spain, saying, " it is the nation," and has 
grown rich by lending paper money, while now, when it 
should have bought four hundred millions of gold, it issued 
five hundred millions of paper. We have only to quote 
the official figures of the condition of the United States 
Treasury on the first of June as a contrast. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN. 

The Invasion of Porto Rico by General Miles — Surprise of the American 
Troops at their Friendly Reception — Very Little Fighting but much 
Cheering — Queer Conception of American Liberty — The Revenge of 
the Persecuted Porto Ricans — The People of Porto Rico Forewarned of 
our Coming by Sampson's Bombardment of San Juan. 

In the history of conquest there is no story to equal that 
of the capture of Porto Rican territory by the United States 
army under command of General Nelson A. Miles. His 
troops were thirsting for fight and anxious for the exhilarat- 
ing experience of burnt powder. There could not have 
been a more aggressive army. From the private to the 
general-in-chief, the invaders were looking for fight. 

Guanica, on the southwest coast of Porto Rico, was the 
scene of the landing of the American troops. There were 
twelve warships in the expedition. The vessels and trans- 
ports, conveying four thousand troops, ardllery, horses, etc., 
arrived off the coast of Porto Rico on July 26th ; and, in 
accordance with the plan agreed upon at a council of war 
held at sea on board the Yale (General Miles' headquar- 
ters), proceeded to Guanica, at which place there is an 
excellent beach for the landing of troops and munitions of 
war. The harbor was known to be the best in the island, 
though not of large commercial importance. 

At the council, which all of the commanding officers 

attended, it was decided that Guanica offered a much better 

landing-place than the port of Ponce, which is fifteen 

miles east, and that the troops could be put ashore there 

482 



THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN. 



483 



without meeting- with any serious resistance ; and it was 
believed that a landing at Ponce might mean the sacrifice 
of too many lives. 

When General Miles and his transports appeared off 
Guanica, an attempt was made to resist the landing, but a 
few well directed shells from the Massachusetts and ColuJii- 
bia put the enemy to flight. These two ships steamed in 
shore, and there dropped their big missiles among the 
Spaniards. At the same time the Gloucester, whose lesser 
draught enabled her to approach close in shore, opened fire 
with her three- and six-pounders, pouring a hot fire into the 
Spaniards, whose reply was feeble. 

The Gloucester then sent a party ashore, which pulled 
down the Spanish flag from a blockhouse near the beach. 
As the red and yellow emblem was about to be lowered, a 
large number of Spanish troops fired on the landing party, 
who replied with their rifles and a machine gun. The Span- 
iards immediately retired, and the Spanish flag came down, no 
more to float over Guanica. Not an American had been hurt. 

The landing of the troops began in the afternoon, and 
all were ashore shortly after nightfall. The soldiers took 
up a position on an elevation close to the shore, where 
they 'vere under the protection of the guns of the warships. 

The sailors had adopted a Spanish trick, and protected 
their position, in the village, by barbed wire barriers, to pass 
which, the enemy, lacking wire-cutters, would find great 
difficulty. The gratifying news of the successful land- 
ing of the lOi-ces of General Miles was sent to Washington 
in the following characteristic dispatch from the general-in- 

command, 

"St. Thomas, July 26, 1898-9:35 P. M. 
^'■Secretary War, Washington: 

"Circumstances were such that I deemed it advisable to take the harbor of 
Guanica first, fifteen miles west of Ponce, which was successfully accomplished 



484 THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN. 

between daylight and 11 o'clock. Spaniards surprised. The Gloucester, Com- 
mander Wainwright, first entered the harbor, met with slight resistance ; fired 
a few shots. All the transports are now in the harbor, and infantry and artillery 
rapidly going ashore. This is a well protected harbor; water sufficiently deep 
for all transports ; the heavy vessels can anchor within a few hundred feet of 
shore. The Spanish flag was lowered and the American flag raised at 11 
o'clock to-day. Capt. Higginson, with his fleet, has rendered able and earnest 
assistance. Troops in good health and best spirits. No casualties. 

"Miles, 
"Major-General, Commanding Army." 

This occasioned considerable surprise at Washington, 
since General Miles had been instructed by the War De- 
partment to land at Fajarvo ; however the administration 
was not disappointed, but rather pleased that it had a 
general whose keen forsight enabled him to know that 
wise men change their plans. 

Having been cooped up in the training and acclimating 
camps, and afterwards on the transports, the troops landed, 
eaofer for fiorht. 

General Miles had thoroughly planned the campaign 
against Porto Rico and his soldiers were just as eager 
as he for battle. But to the great surprise of the 
General and his army the Porto Ricans raised the Stars 
and Stripes at every available point, and would have 
floated "Old Glory" from every tree-top had they had 
enough of the bunting that has always waved victorious 
in battle. 

The men who had come to fight were certainly amazed 
and amused at their reception. To be hugged and kissed 
by the inhabitants, and welcomed as saviours, made it 
seem strange that the enemy did not, at once, surrender 
and lay down their arms. Met with the olive branch, it 
would not have been surprising, to the Americans, had they 
also been confronted by the enemy with the white flag^ 
Suspicions of Spanish treachery, however, prevented them 



THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN. 485 

from accepting- the idea that the occupation of the island 
would not require the shedding of some blood ; and Gen- 
eral Miles and his soldiers continued their military opera- 
tions with the same aggressiveness that they would have 
displayed, had the Spaniards been hidden behind every 
bush and intrenched on every hill-top. 

Never had a hostile nation landed on foreign territory to 
be received as the American army was. The ugly features 
of war were all missing, and the people saw, in the invaders, 
heroes, bearing with them the teachings of the equality of 
mankind and the principles of the great Republic. The 
enemy were all friends and eager to learn the lesson of lib- 
erty. The general-in-chief of the United States army, his 
officers and men had met with a disconcerting surprise. 
They had gone to Porto Rico to fight, and there found that 
the warrior's way was strewn with roses, and that the path 
to victory was free from thorns. 

The taking of the beautiful island, instead of proving 
a terrible tragedy, where many brave men would lose 
their lives turned into a hilarious comedy of warfare. 
There were men lost on both sides, and bravery was 
exhibited by each army ; yet the losses proved trifling. 
Easy conquest was made possible because the Porto 
Ricans wanted to be Americans, and the Spanish soldiers 
were not inspired by any local sentiment. They were as 
strangfers and enemies in the last of the western lands 
remaining tributary to the discoverers of the New World. 
"Viva los Americanos!" was the singular cry that 
greeted the invading army. 

As the ofreat Lord of Battle had saved the American 
navy from any great disaster, so the United States troops 
invading Porto Rico still found His favor, and very few 
were slain. There was some little fighting with the Span- 



486 THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN. 

iards and an incident or two that gave the American 
troops a chance to show of what metal they were made. 
Ambushed and fired at from four points at the same time, 
they nevertheless defeated the enemy, and there were 
several cases of gallantry which we will make mention of in 
the course of our story of the comedy of the conquest of 
the Island of Porto Rico. 

The landing of the American troops was followed by a 
wildly rejoiceful reception by the Porto Ricans, the Spanish 
troops having been driven off, Porto Rico turned American. 
The American army pushed on from Guanica rapidly, and 
it was not long before the Stars and Stripes were floating 
over Ponce, the largest city in Porto Rico. The evacuation 
of the city, by the Spanish troops, was forced without the 
loss of a single life on the American side. 

The surrender was made to Commander Davis, of the 
auxiliary cruiser Dixie, who had been sent, from Guanica 
the preceding day, by Captain Higginson, under orders 
from General Miles to blockade the port. The Dixie was 
accompanied by the Annapolis and Gloucester. When 
they appeared off shore, in the early morning, the inhabi- 
tants of the city feared that it was about to be bombarded, 
and a delegation was sent aboard to announce that there 
would be no resistance to the Americans taking possession. 
This was followed by a formal surrender, and the Dixie 
entered port. The Massachusetts, Cincinnati, and Wasp 
arrived, with the transports, soon after the surrender, and 
the troops were landed rapidly. There was not a single 
mishap. As soon as General Miles reached the city he 
issued the following proclamation : 

" In the prosecution of the war against the Kingdom of 
Spain by the people of the United States, in the cause of 
liberty, justice and humanity, its military forces have come 




OUR YOUNG NAVAL HEROES. 




'^'•'^/rzHi't'*^ 



MEN OF THE ARMY. 



THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN. 489 

to occupy the island of Porto Rico. They come bearing 
the banner of freedom, inspired by noble purpose to seek 
the enemy of our Government and of yours, and to destroy 
or capture all in armed resistance. 

"They bring you the fostering arms of a free people, 
whose greatest power is justice and humanity to all living 
within their fold. Hence they release you from your 
former political relations, and it is hoped this will be followed 
by the cheerful acceptance of the Government of the United 
States. 

"The chief object of the American forces will be to 
overthrow the armed authority of Spain and give the 
people of your beautiful island the largest measure of 
liberty consistent with this military occupation. 

"They have not come to make war on the people of the 
country, who, for centuries, have been oppressed ; on the 
contrary, they bring protection not only to yourselves, but 
to your property. They have come to promote your pros- 
perity and bestow the immunities and blessings of our 
enlightened and liberal institutions and government. It is 
not their purpose to interfere with existing laws and cus- 
toms, which are wholesome and beneficial to the people, so 
long as they conform to the rules of the military adminis- 
tration, order and justice. This is not a war of devastation 
and dissolution, but one to give all within the control of 
the military and naval forces the advantages and blessings 
of enlightened civilization." 

A few days before the surrender of Ponce, the American 

troops, under General Garretson, had a lively skirmish 

with the Spanish soldiers, who were forced to retreat with 

a loss of twenty killed and wounded. The American loss 

was four wounded, none of them, however, being seriously 

hurt. 

28 



49° THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN. 

The Spanish garrison abandoned much military property, 
including arms, ammunition and stores. The entry of our 
troops called forth an ovation, the Porto Ricans welcoming 
them as friends rather than hostile invaders. They cheered 
our soldiers, and proclaimed their satisfaction at the raising 
of the Stars and Stripes over the city. Indeed, many of 
them attempted to join the army, that they might advance 
with it against San Juan. 

The provisional articles of surrender were four, and were 
characteristic of American chivalry in waging war. The 
first was that the garrison should be allowed to retreat ; 
the second, that the civil government should remain in 
force ; the third, that the police and fire brigade were to be 
maintained without arms ; and the fourth, that the captain 
of the port was not to be made a prisoner. 

The Americans did not have to hunt the Spaniards ; the 
citizens did that for them. In a city of nearly fifty thousand 
inhabitants, four-fifths of the citizens went out hunting for 
the other one-fifth, and brought them in by the nape of the 
neck or wherever they could get hold of them, dragging 
them into the city and handing them over to the American 
troops. An eye witness gives the following description of 
the way the Porto Ricans captured the Spaniards. 

"Spread over miles of country here and there, at fre- 
quent intervals, may be seen a body of from twenty to fifty 
excited persons dancing around a house, shouting and yell- 
ing at the top of their lungs. After awhile some of them 
dash off, and presently come back to the American soldiers. 
Then the whole crowd yell : " 

" He is there, he is there ; catch him." 

"The soldiers then go in and pull out a miserable, shak- 
ing, under-sized person and make off with him to the military 
headquarters. The poor wretch gets to chattering expres- 



THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN. 49 ^ 

sions of his conviction that he is going to be killed, and 
the excited crowd follows so closely that the soldiers have 
to walk backward and point their bayonets to protect the 
prisoner." 

"The crowd yells, and some draw their fingers across 
their throats threateningly, which does not have a very reas- 
suring effect upon the trembling prisoner. Arriving at head- 
quarters, the shivering person instead of being put to death, 
as he fears, is only asked to sign a parole agreement, which 
he does with all the alacrity his shaking hand will permit, 
and he is let go to join the crowd in yelling, "Viva los 
Americanos," and there you have the city of Ponce to-day." 

The inhabitants of Porto Rico embraced liberty without 
fully comprehending what it meant. To them it meant 
first deliverance from oppression. Yet there are unmis- 
takable signs to indicate that years will pass before the 
average Porto Rican will be able to detect the shadow of 
liberty from the substance. 

On the second and third day after our occupation of 
Ponce, the Porto Ricans' misconception of liberty began to 
crop out. General Wilson's headquarters were beset from 
morning to night by an Anti-Spanish mob, clamoring for 
permission to persecute Spanish sympathizers. General 
Wilson was compelled to rely upon many of these men, to 
a certain extent, in the selection of guides and interpreters, 
and in making certain disposition of his troops ; so, for a 
time, a certain measure of political power fell into their 
hands. 

One of the first acts of General Wilson was to release 
political prisoners, many of whom had been confined since 
the Rebellion in 1887. I" that year occurred the last un- 
successful attempt of the Porto Ricans to throw off the 
Spanish yoke. Some of these men had, at that time, been 



492 THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN, 

made to suffer terrible physical agony, it being a well estab- 
lished fact that, during the Rebellion, the Spanish authori- 
ties renewed the cruelties of the Inquisition for the punish- 
ment and the detection of political offenders. Some of their 
torturing chambers still stand within a few miles of Ponce. 

The thoughts of these men, on being released from their 
imprisonment and again beholding the light of freedom, were 
first of thankfulness and then of revenge. Imbued with the 
notion that liberty meant license to arrest, maltreat and 
abuse any Spanish resident, they organized bands from 
among their relatives and friends, and went out to seek 
those known to be loyal to Spain. 

During the days immediately following the occupation 
of Ponce, scores of unfortunate Spaniards, who had retired 
to their homes, and remained there quietly, when the sol- 
diers of their country had departed, were roughly dragged 
away from their families by these revengeful mobs and 
hurried through the streets. Pursued by a howling rabble 
they were brought before General Wilson, or the Provost- 
Marshal, where they were triumphantly produced with the 
evident expectation that if not immediately shot, they would, 
at least, be committed to prison for life. 

General Wilson, after learning the circumstances, ordered 
the release of these unfortunates, and strictly enjoined that 
such arrests should immediately cease, under severe pen- 
alty. The Porto Rican patriots then first felt the poignant 
arrow of doubt pierce his idea of liberty. The revengeful 
Porto Ricans were ordered to go to their homes, and were 
informed that American liberty protected the Spaniard 
under its dominion, as well as the Porto Rican, as long 
as he obeyed the law of the land. 

For several days a guard was placed about the resi- 
dences of the Spaniards who were considered to be most 



THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN. 493 

in danger. The thirst for vengeance, though checked, had 
not been quenched, however. Iniquities were committed 
secretly. 

The more intelHgent class of Porto Rican residents, com- 
prising a small part of the population, did not share in these 
expressions of hatred. Although checked in Ponce, these 
abuses extended into the country with more serious results. 
Before the landing of the American troops, the Spanish 
forces were augmented by about six thousand volunteers, 
armed with inferior rifles. The majority of these served 
unwillingly and were eager to lay down their arms at the 
first opportunity. Although hundreds remained in Ponce 
and surrendered, many were uncertain as to the treatment 
they would receive and fled into the country and to the 
small towns. They were forced to accompany the Spanish 
garrison on its retirement, and deserted at the first chance. 
In this way it happened that hundreds of these volunteers 
were hiding among the sugar plantations and unused mills 
and buildings, when the i6th Pennsylvania pushed forward 
to San Diaz. 

No sooner had Colonel Hulings established his head- 
quarters in the Municipal Buildings, than enthusiastic Porto 
Rican workers in the cause of liberty began to drag un- 
fortunate volunteers before him. The natives hunted these 
wretched men as if they were wild beasts, and, having cap- 
tured them, treated them as such. A group of Porto Rican 
horsemen rushed up in a cloud of dust, halting in front of 
headquarters. As the dust cleared away it was noticed 
that they had attached to a rope, the other end of which 
was securely fastened to one of the saddles, a man, 
or what was left of one, held by a slip noose. His feet 
were bleeding, his clothing torn, and when his captor's 
horse stopped, he fell exhausted to the ground. The 



494 THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN. 

noose had been drawn so tight about his throat, that 
speech was impossible. He could only groan and roll his 
eyes imploringly toward the group of Americans. The 
Porto Ricans talked excitedly in Spanish, and an interpre- 
ter explained that the prisoner was a Spanish volunteer 
who had been caught four miles beyond Juan Diaz, while 
attempting to hide in an old sugarhouse. His hands had 
been tied and the rope placed about his neck, and he had 
been forced to keep pace with the horses. This explana- 
tion being given, the Porto Ricans sat on their perspiring 
animals, expecting to be highly commended. Instead, they 
were ordered to release the prisoner who was paroled, as 
all who surrendered had been, and protected on his return 
to his home near Ponce. The captors were cautioned not 
to molest any Spanish residents, and to deal humanely 
with the volunteers who fell into their hands. Thus was 
dealt another severe blow at the Porto Rican idea of liberty. 

Complaints were made by the wealthy Spanish planters, 
of indignities heaped upon them by the Porto Ricans, and 
here again many of them received a guard of American 
soldiers to protect their residences and mills from being 
burned by the natives. They were prevented, however, 
from working their plantations and a great many valuable 
crops were ruined. The majority of the wealthy Span- 
iards were glad at heart to see the American occupation, 
though their sympathies were with Spain, and they did not 
wish her possessions to pass from her dishonorably. They 
believe that the United States will give Porto Rico a good 
government, and thereby bring prosperity and happiness 
to that most beautiful of tropical islands. 

Juan Diaz, twelve miles from Ponce by the military road, 
was the fourth town taken by the Americans, Guanica 
being the first then Yauco, and then Ponce. When the 



THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGA. 495 

troops took possession of Yauco, the mayor of that town 
promptly issued this interesting proclamation: 

"Citizens : To-day the citizens of Porto Rico assist in one of her most beauti- 
ful festivals. The sun of America shines upon our mountains and valleys this 
day of July, 1898. It is a day of glorious remembrance for each son of this 
beloved isle, because for the first time there waves over it the flag of the Stars, 
planted in the name of the Government of the United States of America by the 
Major-General of the American Army, General Miles. 

" Porto Ricans, we are by the miraculous intervention of the God of the 
Just, given back to the bosom of our mother America, in whose waters nature 
placed us as a people of America. To her we are given back in the name of 
her Government by General Miles, and we must send her our most expressive 
salutation of generous affection through our conduct toward the valiant troops 
represented by distinguished officers and commanded by the illustrious General 
Miles. 

"Citizens: Long live the Government of the United States of America! 
Hail to their valiant troops ! Hail Porto Rico, always American ! 

"Yauco, Porto Rico, United States of America. 

" El Alcalde, Francisco Megia." 

The citizens of Juan Diaz hugged the American soldiers 
many of them falling on their knees and embracing the 
legs of the troopers, much to their astonishment and 
inconvenience. It was certainly the most remarkable 
reception that was ever given to an invading army. 
The mayor placarded his town with posters proclaim- 
ing peace, and an order from General Wilson, the 
Military Governor, commanding the surrender of all arms. 
Even the Spanish local newspapers professed loyalty to the 
Americans, and welcomed them with columns of editorial 
greeting, praising them as the bravest and the fairest men 
of the world. The following telegram from General Miles 
is well worth reproducing, as it tells of the situation in a 
few words, and just as it was : 

" Ponce, Porto Rico, July 31, 1898. 
'^Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. : 

" Your telegram 27th received and answered by letter. Volunteers are sur- 
rendering themselves with arms and ammunition ; four-fifths of the people are 



49^ THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN. 

overjoyed at the arrival of the army. Two thousand from one place have 
volunteered to serve with it. They are bringing in transportation, beef, cattle, 
and other needed supplies. 

"The Custom House has already yielded $14,000. 

"As soon as all the troops are disembarked they will be in readiness to 
move. 

" Please send any national colors that can be spared, to be given to the dif- 
ferent municipalities. 

" I request that the question of the tariff rates to be charged in the parts of 
Porto Rico occupied by our forces be submitted to the President for his action, 
the previously existing tariff remaining meanwhile in force. As to the govern- 
ment under military occupation, I have already given instructions based upon 
the instructions issued by the President in the case of the Philippine Islands, 
and similar to those issued at Santiago de Cuba. Miles." 

The Americans found very few loyal Spaniards in Porto 
Rico. It is true that the troops, as a rule, showed Spanish 
bravery and inability to shoot straight, but they were too 
few and too much handicapped. An incident demon- 
strating the easy capture of Juan Diaz occurred when four 
companies of the i6th Pennsylvania were sent out to 
find some Spaniards who were reported to be intrenched 
near that town. Couriers had announced the advent of the 
Americans to the people of Juan Diaz, and a brass band 
came out to meet them. All the citizens were assembled on 
the outskirts of the town ; and, as the Yankee volunteers 
appeared up the road, the band played "Yankee Doodle" 
and other patriotic American airs, while the people cried 
" Viva los America7ios ! '' 

Many brought with them cigars, cigarettes, tobacco, banan- 
as and other fruits, with which they presented the soldiers ; 
and many insisted on taking the warrior-visitors to their 
homes, where they were made welcome, the houses being 
decorated with American flags. In the public square 
the mayor made a speech of welcome, in which he 
said that all the people of Juan Diaz were Americans now, 
while the crowds shouted, " Death to the Spaniards ! " It 



THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN. 497 

was not long before the mayors of many other towns sent 
word to the Americans that all they needed to become 
Americanized were a few flags to float over their public 
buildings. 

It was reported that the town of Guayama had a large 
garrison, and that the soldiers there would fight. Two 
companies of regulars were sent to find out the intention of 
the Spaniards. They were met on the way by a delegation 
of citizens, who said that they had driven the Spaniards out 
of the town, and had already hoisted the American flag. 
The soldiers thought that this was a trick, and observed the 
greatest caution in approaching the place; but, coming 
near, they saw the flag waving in the distance, and marched 
into the town without hesitation. Here they found even a 
more cordial reception than that which was given them at 
Juan Diaz. The bands were playing American airs, and 
the men and women fell upon their knees and worshipped 
our soldiers. The mayor made a speech in which he said 
the day of the deliverance of Porto Rico had come. The 
enthusiasm of the people was unbounded. 

On August 2d, the steamers St. Paul and St. Louis 
landed a large expedition of American troops at Arroyo, the 
town having surrendered to the Wasp and Gloucester. The 
two vessels entered the harbor early in the morning, and a 
crowd of townspeople, headed by the mayor and the padre, 
came from the town to the shore to greet them, cheering 
lustily before the ships came to anchor. First a small boat 
was sent ashore with a flag of truce. The people welcomed 
the captains, and the mayor and the priests delivered the 
city over to them. The surrender of Arroyo was import- 
ant, the town having quite a number of manufacturing 
enterprises. The Spanish volunteers laid down their arms 
and refused to fight. 



498 THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN. 

The Wasp was the first to arrive at Arroyo, where the 
people were waiting for her. They had been waiting five 
days ; in fact nobody had worked since the news arrived 
that Miles was coming. The Spanish garrison, three hun- 
dred and fifty strong, was paralyzed with fear, and wanted 
to surrender or leave. Colonel Samuel Martin, who was in 
command, declared that he could not surrender, and that 
he did not know what to do. The foreign consul advised 
him to take his men and get out. He was in a quandary; 
but when the Wasp was sighted there was no doubt 
among the people. They crowded to the harbor front, and 
when the Wasp came into the port she saw a great, enthu- 
siastic throng instead of the Spanish troops. She steamed 
up close to shore, with all her guns bearing on the port 
There being no sign of hostilities. Ensign Rowland Cur- 
tin was sent ashore, with four men, bearing a flag of truce. 
They suspected treachery on the part of the Spaniards, 
and the gunners of the Wasp stood ready to fire at a 
second's warning. Ensign Curtin is a little man, but he 
has plenty of sand. He put for the beach as though he 
had no suspicion of treachery. As the boat approached 
the shore, the people crowded down to the water's edge 
with their hands filled with cigars, tobacco, cigarettes, 
bananas, and other articles, which they threw to the Ameri- 
cans when the boats came within range. 

As the ensign stepped out from his boat on the beach, 
the people crowded around him, forcing cigars and other 
things upon him and his men, while others further away 
threw their offerings to the sailors. Then they gave three 
rousing cheers. Ensign Curtin then introduced himself 
to his remarkable enemy, and said that he had come to 
demand the surrender of the port and city. The people 
declared that they were glad to see him and pleased to 



THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN. 499 

surrender to him. He asked to see the civil or mihtary 
authorities. Some of the civil executives were present and 
said that they could not surrender the city. That must 
be done by the military. He was told that the commander 
could be reached by telephone. 

Ensign Curtin pulled his watch from his pocket and 
said to one of the spokesmen : " Go to the telephone, and 
tell your general that I say to him that if he is not here, 
and does not surrender within half an hour, I will bombard 
the city." 

It was, however, not necessary to bombard the place, as 
the citizens had long before learned to respect our demands. 
In the early days of this war, when the idea of gaining the 
beautiful island of Porto Rico was unthought of by the gen- 
eral public, and the place was interesting only in connection 
with the mysterious movements of Cervera's fleet, it became 
necessary that there should be a demonstration at San Juan 
that it might have a moral effect upon the inhabitants, and 
clear their conception of the power with which their Home 
Government was at variance. 

The boldness of General Miles, in spreading the forces 
over so many lines of defence, is a conclusive proof of the 
friendly disposition of the natives. There were but few 
encounters, and as early as August 9th, General Miles sent 
the following dispatch to Washington: 

Ponce, Porto Rico, August 9, 1898. 
' Secretary of War, Washington : 

" Please do not send any more troops. No more required. Miles." 

Dispatches were sent to General Coppinger at Tampa, 
and General Breckenridge at Chickamauga, saying that no 
more troops would be sent to Porto Rico. 

The forces under General Miles had been reinforced by 
troops under General Wilson and General Brooke. The 



500 THE PORTO RICAN CAMPAIGN. 

whole southern part of the island was practically in the 
hands of the Americans, who were pressing forward to cap- 
ture San Juan, when the news of the armistice was received 
from Washington and all military operations ceased. The 
vessel which had been sunk in the harbor to prevent the 
entrance of the American fleet was removed and commerce 
reopened. 



CHAPTER XXX. 



THE FALL OF MANILA. 



General Merritt Arrives in the Philippines — Manila, Refusing to Surrender, is 
Taken by Force — Bombardment of the Fortifications, and Operations of 
the Land Forces — Mutiny of the Natives — Terms of Surrender— Mili- 
tary Government Established. 

Though Admiral Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet on 
May 1st, it was not until August 13th that Manila fell into 
the hands of the Americans. Without a sufficient land force 
it was impossible for Admiral Dewey to demand the sur- 
render of Manila, as the responsibility of protecting the 
lives and property of the citizens would thereby devolve 
upon him. 

General Merritt had arrived at Cavite on the 25th of 
July, after a quick passage from Honolulu, where he left 
the third expedition of about four thousand men, under 
General McArthur. This detachment was expected to 
arrive at Manila about August ist, and decisive operations 
were not to be commenced until all of the troops had 
arrived there. 

The immediate result of General Merritt's arrival and 
examination of the situation, was a request, from him, that 
his forces be at once increased to 50,000 men. The troops 
he had with him were sufficient to capture and hold Manila, 
but it was apparent that the pretensions of Aguinaldo 
made it necessary to prepare for unforeseen events. 

On the 31st of July a sharp night attack was commenced 
by the Spaniards, which, for a time, was very serious, but 
was finally repulsed. On the 29th of July our forces, under 



S02 



THE FALL OF MANLLA. 



General Greene, had occupied an old trench, relinquished 
by the insurgents, which was found untenable, and our 
troops advanced about one hundred yards, and threw up a 
new line of breastworks, two hundred and fifty yards long, 
extending from the Manila road to the beach, and about 
seven hundred and fifty yards distant from the Spanish 
position at Malate, a suberb of Manila. This was accom- 
plished by the ist Nebraska. On the next day the ist 
Colorado relieved it, and on July 31st the loth Pennsyl- 
vania relieved the Colorado Regiment. The Utah Artillery 
was also part of this force. No opposition was made by 
the enemy, while the construction of the work was in pro- 
gress. The arrival, that day, of General McArthur, how- 
ever, seems to have stimulated the enemy to make an 
attack to overpower General Greene, before the newly 
arrived troops could be landed. The insurgents, who 
should have prolonged our line to the right, had withdrawn 
to celebrate some feast, and the Spanish forces, 3,000 strong, 
attacked both our front and right flanks, and, securing a 
cross-fire, somewhat demoralized the Pennsylvanians. The 
Utaji Battery seems to have been cooler. In endeavoring 
to reinforce our right, by moving across an open field be- 
tween the old trench and our new line, four companies of 
the Pennsylvanians suffered most of their loss. Matters 
were getting ticklish. Dispatches were sent to General 
Greene for reinforcements and ammunition. The courier 
bearing them met on the road, Captain O'Hara, command- 
ing a battery of the 3d Artillery, who had, at the sound of 
the firing, started ahead to learn what was going on. Cap- 
tain O'Hara, being informed that the Americans were hard 
pressed, immediately ordered his command. Battery H, 3d 
Artillery, Captain Hobbs, forward at the doublequick, and 
rushing into the trenches, put a new phase on the matter. He 



THE FALL OF MANILA. 503 

found there Lieutenant Krayenguhl and Lieutenant Kess- 
ier, with Battery K, 3d Artillery, who, at the sound of fir- 
ing, had hastened from their positions on the Pasai Road. 
These two officers had arrived just in time, and by their 
decisive action, soon restored confidence. The regulars 
went in with a cheer, and, with a rapid and effective fire, 
caused the Spaniards to retreat. 

In the meantime. General Greene, who accepted the situ- 
ation very coolly, sent forward the First Battalion of the ist 
California Volunteers, and plenty of ammunition. The 
Californians at first rushed into the abandoned insurgent 
trenches, and, in the darkness, opened on our own men, 
firing three volleys before they were stopped and brought 
up to a position on the right. The engagement lasted 
about four hours. Our losses were reported as fourteen 
men killed, and eight officers and thirty-eight men wounded. 

When it is considered that this attack was made at night, 
with all the accompaniments of a severe storm, that it was 
the first time our troops had ever been under fire and 
that the enemy was superior in strength and knowledge of 
the locality, the conduct of our officers and men is deserv- 
ing of the highest praise. 

The following niofht there was more fiehtino-, but of no 
special gravity. The Spanish loss was very heavy. This 
sharp action, demonstrating the intention of the Spanish 
commander to fight, resulted in General Merritt and Ad- 
miral Dewey pushing matters to a conclusion, and, on 
August 7th, the following letter was sent to General 
Jaudenes : 

" To the General in Chief . commanding the Spanish forces at Manila : 

"Sir : We have the honor to notify your Excellency that operations of the 
land and naval forces of the United States against the defences of Manila may 
begin at any time after the expiration of forty-eight hours from the receipt by 



504 THE FALL OF MANILA. 

you of this communication, or sooner, if made necessary by attack on your 
part. This notice is given to afford you an opportunity to remove all non-com- 
batants from the city. 

"Yours respectfully, 

" Wesley Merritt, 

" Major-General, U. S. A., Commanding. 
"George Dewey, 

" Rear Admiral, U. S. N., Commanding." 

To this letter General Jaudenes replied as follows: 

" Manila, August 7. 
" Gentlemen : 1 have the honor to inform your Excellencies that at half- 
past 12 to-day I received the notice with which you favored me, that after 
forty-eight hours have elapsed you may begin operations against this fortified 
city, or at an earlier hour if the forces under your command are attacked by 
mine. As your notice was sent for the purpose of providing safety for non- 
combatants, I give thanks to your Excellencies for the humane sentiments you 
show, and state that, finding myself surrounded by insurrectionary forces, I am 
without a place of refuge for the increased number of wounded, sick, women 
and children now lodged within these walls. 

"Respectfully, and kissing the hands of your Excellencies, 

"Feroin Jaudenes." 

On the 9th another joint note was sent to the com- 
mander of the Spanish forces, pointing out to him his hope- 
less condition, surrounded on all sides, with no prospects 
of reinforcements, our fleet being in front of the city ; also 
inviting his attention to the sufferings in store for the sick 
and non-combatants in case it should become necessary to 
reduce the defences. An immediate surrender was de- 
manded as due to every consideration of humanity. On 
the same day a reply was received, admitting the situation, 
but stating that the council for defence declared that the 
request for surrender could not be granted unless sanc- 
tioned by the Spanish Government, and had offered to con- 
sult the government at Madrid if time were granted neces- 
sary for communication via Hong Kong. To this an 
answer was sent declining to grant further delays. Time 
was allowed, however, for the removal of the sick and 





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THE FALL OF MANILA. 



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wounded and non-combatants from the vicinity of the forti- 
fications. The bombardment was not begun until the 
Spaniards had twice refused to capitulate. 

At nine o'clock, on the morning of the 13th, Rear- 
Admiral Dewey advanced with his squadron, again signal- 
ing a demand for surrender. The Spaniards still refused 
to capitulate, and the Olympia commenced the bombard- 
ment of the forts with her eight-inch guns. Simultaneously 
with the bombardment of the forts, the American land 
forces advanced on the city. The bombardment lasted two 
hours, and after the defences were almost totally destroyed, 
they were stormed by the American troops. 

The 1st Colorado Volunteers stormed the outer trenches 
and drove the enemy into the second line of defence. The 
combined American forces, sweeping on, drove all of the 
Spaniards into the inner fortifications, where the Spanish 
commander, seeing that further resistance was useless, 
hoisted the white flag- and surrendered. Nothing could have 
been more humane than the American capture of the town. 
The plan of General Merritt and Admiral Dewey being 
to spare everything but the armed defences and the 
trenches. The Spanish intrenchments varied, in point of 
distance, from two to four miles from the centre of Old 
Manila. They extended around the city forming a circle 
twelve miles in circumference, and it was impossible for 
the small Spanish forces to hold these defences against the 
attacking line. There were less than five thousand Span- 
ish Regular troops. Volunteers and natives available, and 
about half that number were in the hospitals. The attack- 
ing force numbered from ten to twenty thousand natives, 
and ten thousand Americans. In every respect the advan- 
tage was on the side of the attack. The American field 
guns threw heavier metal and had longer range than the 
29 



5o8 THE FALL OF MANILA. 

Spanish, and the men were stronger and in better condi- 
tion. The Spaniards are a small race compared with their 
stalwart opponents, and worn out by the hundred days' 
siege, and disappointed by the failure, to arrive, of the 
promised Spanish relief squadron, they had lost heart. It 
was a hopeless struggle ; the Olympia had fired the first 
shot and a continuous cannonade was kept up until about 
twelve o'clock. By that time the Malate Fort was silenced. 
The Spanish commander, convinced that further resistance 
was hopeless, hoisted a white flag at 1.30 and an order to 
cease firing was issued, but in the outskirts of the city, 
fighting continued for some time between the rebels and 
Spaniards. The only fear felt, in the city, was in regard to 
the conduct of the insurgents. On account of the various 
restrictions placed, by General Merritt, upon the insur- 
gents, not permitting them to have any share in the sur- 
render of Manila, caused them to mutiny, and it is said 
that they attacked the American troops in various places 
during the siege. 

After the surrender, General Jaudenes was found after 
considerable difficulty. He was discovered in the security 
of a church filled with women and children. Subsequent 
proceedings, regarding terms, were conducted in the Muni- 
cipal Building, the governor-general consenting to leave 
the church after a brief conference. The terms of capitu- 
lation were as follows : 

The surrender of the Philippines. 

Officers to be allowed to retain their swords and per- 
sonal effects, but not their horses. 

Prisoners of war surrendering their arms, to have neces- 
sary supplies provided from the treasury, and when that is 
exhausted, the Americans are to make provisions. 

All public property is to be surrendered, and future dis- 



THE FALL OF MANILA. 509 

position of the Spanish troops to be determined by nego- 
tiation between the respective governments. 

Arms may be returned at General Merritt's discretion. 

Banks to continue operation under existing regulations, 
subject to change by the United States Government. 

Flag-Lieutenant Brumby, immediately after the terms of 
capitulation had been signed, hurried off to lower the 
Spanish flag in the Philippines. He was accompanied by 
two signal men from the Olyinpia. This little party found 
its way, after considerable difficulty, into the fort in the 
northern portion of the city. There a large Spanish flag 
was flying; grouped about it were many Spanish officers. 
Brumby's presence there, in uniform, attracted a crowd 
from the city. They hissed as he approached to haul down 
the flag. Then the Stars and Stripes went up in place of 
the other. Many of those present wept bitterly as the flag 
of the victorious stranger climbed into place above the fort. 
Fearing that the crowd might lower " Old Glory," Brumby 
asked an American Infantry officer to move up a detach- 
ment to guard it. Fortunately he met a company coming 
up with a band. The Infantrymen presented arms, and 
the band played " The Star Spangled Banner." 

The day after the surrender the insurgents entered the 
Spanish trenches on the outskirts of the city, but were 
driven off General Merritt notified them that they would 
not be permitted to come inside of the city. 

The prestige of the white population, in the Philippines, 
has been almost entirely destroyed by the war. 

If an attempt were made to give the Islands autonomy, it 
could only be effected gradually, under strict benevolent 
tutelage. Any other regime would bring back barbarism. 

The following order, sent to General Merritt, will show 
what an impression the situation made on the War Depart- 
ment: 



S^o THE FALL OF MANILA. 

"Adjutant General's Office, Washington, August 17, i8g8. 
'^Major General Merritt. Manila, Philippines : The President directs that 
there must be no joint occupation with the insurgents. The United States, in 
the possession of Manila City, Manila bay and harbor, must preserve the peace 
and protect persons and property within the territory occupied by their military 
and naval forces. The insurgents and all others must recognize the military 
occupation and authority of the United States and the cessation of hostilities 
proclaimed by the President. Use whatever means in your judgment are 
necessary to this end. All law-abiding people must be treated alike. 

'' By order. Secretary War, 

" H. C. CORBIN, 

' ' Adj utant-General.'' 

The excitement among the natives had to be met with 
determination, and General Merritt issued a proclamation 
which provided a temporary form of government for 
Manila and the surrounding territory. Rigid protection to 
all. Municipal laws, tribunals, and local institutions for 
punishment of crime. Open trade for neutral nations. 
Rigorous protection to public property, etc. 

This fair and generous policy has been unwaveringly car- 
ried out. The departure of General Merritt, for Paris, left 
the military power — the administration of martial law — in 
the able and firm hands of Major-General Otis, who had pre- 
served perfect order on the land, in the spirit that Admiral 
Dewey commanded the bay and enforced the supremacy 
of the American Flag on the water. It is well known to 
those most competent as witnesses that the Spaniards 
themselves, in Manila, were as well satisfied as a beaten army 
and deposed government could be ; to go home — or staying, 
submit cheerfully to American lawgiving and rule. Their 
demand for the Philippines, so vehemently pressed by them 
in the sessions of the Commissioners in Paris, was perfectly 
understood by them to be impracticable, and made merely 
with the hope of securing a money consideration. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



PEACE NEGOTIATIONS. 



The Turning of Events Changes the Motives of the Contest — Spain Sues 
for Peace — President McKinley's Response — The PhiHppine Question 
— The Terms of the Protocol— McKinley's Proclamation — Hostilities 
Ceased — Peace Commissioners Appointed — Paris Conference. 

The war, originally undertaken to give a stable govern- 
ment to Cuba, by the logic of events changed from one of 
mere humanitarian motives to a contest involving the com- 
mercial interests of the world. Our successes and the 
unforeseen conditions of the natives of the Spanish pos- 
sessions which come under our control, very materially 
altered the course to be pursued by our government in the 
disposition of the territory thus occupied by force of arms, 
and it became a question as to what would be the legiti- 
mate result of our success in the war. It was certain that 
the Cubans were incapable of organizing an independent 
government; and a stable government, owing to the course 
of events, could only come through the United States, and 
would require a long period of occupation on our part, in 
connection with the establishment of such a government. 

Porto Rico we decided to annex, and the inhabitants 
were from the beginning perfectly in harmony with us in 
that respect, but with the Philippines the question was 
more difficult, not so much on account of the natives, as on 
account of the jealousies of the various great powers that 
are interested in the Orient. It may be desirable, on our 
part, that the Philippines become an American colony, but 
it will require a large military and naval force to maintain 

5" 



s^ 



PEACE NEGOTIATIONS. 



law and order until the natives have been won over to the 
advantages and benefits of our form of government. 

To return the Islands to Spain would mean a continua- 
tion of the rebellion which has existed there for many 
years. We have, therefore, outside of our own commer- 
cial interests, and to indemnify ourselves for the cost of 
the war, a twofold duty to perform in the Philippine 
Islands : to maintain peace and to establish a substantial 
government there. 

On Tuesday, July 26th, the Spanish government, through 
the French Ambassador in Washington, M, Jules Cambon, 
made a formal proposal to the United States for ending the 
war, and arranging terms of peace. The Spanish proposi- 
tion contained no reference to an armistice. At the same 
time it was framed on the idea that if peace negotiations 
were entered upon there would be a suspension of hostili- 
ties, pending an agreement upon the exact terms of peace. 
In this there appears to have been a distinction made be- 
tween the word " armistice " and " suspension of hostilities." 
It was taken for granted that a suspension of hostilities 
would be essential to carrying forward the peace negotia- 
tions. The Spanish proposition was clothed with all the 
solemnity and formality of a government act. It bore the 
signature of Duke Almadovar de Rio, the Spanish Minister 
of Foreign Affairs, and besides expressing the desire of the 
Spanish Cabinet and Government that the peace negotia- 
tions be opened, it was given the additional solemnity of 
approval and earnest personal request by Queen Regent 
Maria Cristina. The instructions bore the date of Madrid, 
July 25th. This application placed the President in a 
position which compelled him to determine to what ends 
the war was to be further prosecuted, and what should be 
the limit of our demands upon Spain. We could not bind 



PEACE NEGOTIATIONS. 513 

ourselves by any pledges as to what we would do in a given 
contingency; however, President McKinley on July 30th, 
through the French Ambassador, made known to Spain the 
following terms under which we would begin negotiations 
tending toward peace : 

" The United States does not now put forward any claim for pecuniary 
indemnity, but requires the rehnquishment of all claim of sovereignty over, or 
title to, the Island of Cuba, as well as the immediate evacuation by Spain of 
the Island ; the cession to the United States and immediate evacuation of 
Porto Rico and other Islands under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, 
and the like cession of an Island in the Ladrones. 

" The United States will occupy and hold the city, bay and harbor of Manila, 
pending the conclusion of a Treaty of Peace which shall determine the control, 
disposition and government of the Philippines. If these terms are accepted by 
Spain in their entirety, commissioners will be named by the United States to 
meet commissioners on the part of Spain for the purpose of concluding a 
Treaty of Peace on the basis above indicated." 

After repeated and prolonged consultation, the Spanish 
Cabinet sent for further information. Objection was raised, 
on behalf of Spain, to the following: 

" That Spain assume the municipal debt of Cuba and 
Porto Rico. 

" That Spain pay indemnities to American citizens for 
damages suffered at the hands of the Spanish officers and 
authorities in Cuba." 

At the conclusion of the Mexican War the United States 
assumed all such claims in behalf of American citizens, and 
established a special tribunal for their adjudication and pay- 
ment. The same course was pursued in 181 9, in effecting 
a settlement of the Florida troubles with Spain, though 
the decisions announced by the special tribunal have been 
a source of litigation and negotiations down to the present 
time. 

The amount of claims against Spain in behalf of Ameri- 
can citizens who suffered in Cuba was, up to the day of the 



5M PEACE NEGOTIATIONS. 

destruction of the Maine , ^15,000,000. Since then have 
been added claims amounting to about $5,000,000. 

It was the opinion of the Spanish cabinet that the United 
States should assume the liability for these claims. Presi- 
dent McKinley refused to reconsider the terms, and the 
Spanish cabinet was either to accept or reject the propo- 
sition. 

On August 9th the French Ambassador received the re- 
ply from Spain accepting our proposition. The President, 
having determined that the answer was an acceptance of 
our terms, directed the formulation of a protocol which em- 
braced all of the points in the American proposition. 

This document, when completed, was submitted to M, 
Cambon, Spain's representative, and the Spanish govern- 
ment was notified to that effect. The terms of the proto- 
col were as follows: 

1. Spain will relinquish all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba. 

2. Porto Rico and other Spanish islands in the West Indies and an island 
in the Ladrones, to be selected by the United States, shall be ceded to the 
latter. 

3. The United States will occupy and hold the city, bay and harbor of Ma- 
nila pending the conclusion of a treaty of peace, which shall determine the 
control, disposition and government of the Philippines. 

4. Cuba, Porto Rico and other Spanish islands in the West Indies shall be im- 
mediately evacuated, and Commissioners, to be appointed within ten days, 
shall, within thirty days from the signing of the protocol, meet at Havana 
and San Juan, respectively, to arrange and execute the details of the evacu- 
ation. 

5. The United States and Spain will each appoint not more than five Com- 
missioners to negotiate and conclude a Treaty of Peace. The Commissionera 
are to meet at Paris not later than the ist of October. 

6. On the signing of the protocol hostilides will be suspended, and notice 
to that effect will be given as soon as possible by each Government to the 
commanders of its military and naval forces. 

On the following day the French Ambassador received 
instructions from Madrid to adjust the terms of the proto- 
col on behalf of Spain, and giving him authority to modify 



PEACE NEGOTIATIONS. 515 

or withdraw such representations as should prove un- 
acceptable to the United States. The preliminaries were 
then arranged between Secretary Day and M. Cambon, at 
the State Department. On August 12th, the Spanish Gov- 
ernment notified the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
M. Delcasse, at Paris, of its acceptance of the protocol, 
and asked the French Government to transmit to their 
ambassador, at Washington, such power as, in conformity 
with President McKinley's expressly formulated desire, 
would authorize him, as ambassador of France, at Wash- 
ington, to sign the protocol, and on the same day the signa- 
tures were attached. 

While this particular document is properly described as 
a protocol, it was still technically something more than that. 
It was an agreement midway between that of an armistice, 
which usually intervenes between active war and final peace. 
So far as it goes, a protocol is absolutely a peace treaty. 

Thus having provided for disposing of Cuba, Porto Rico 
and one of the Ladrone Islands, there is nothing more for 
any peace commission to do in relation to those subjects. 
Their fate is sealed and the protocol is, in that respect, as 
binding as any definite treaty of peace. 

It was such a protocol as this that was signed by Presi- 
dent Thiers and Prince Bismarck to terminate the Franco- 
Prussian War, and the conditions therein laid down were 
not even subject to revision at the hands of the peace 
commission that followed. 

The protocol was signed on behalf of the United States 
by Secretary Day and on behalf of Spain by M. Cambon. 
Thereupon President McKinley issued the following pro- 
clamation : 

Whereas, By a protocol concluded and signed August 12, 1898, by 
William R. Day, Secretary of State of the United States, and his Excellency 



5i6 PEACE NEGOTIATIONS. 

Jules Cambon, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic 
of France at Washington, respectively representing for this purpose the Govern- 
ments of the United States and Spain, have formally agreed upon the terms on 
which negotiations for the establishment of peace between the two coun- 
tries shall be undertaken; and, 

Whereas, It is in said protocol agreed that upon its conclusion and signa- 
ture hostilities between the two countries shall be suspended, and that notice 
to that effect shall be given as soon as possible by each Government to the com- 
manders of its mihtary and naval forces ; 

Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States, do, 
in accordance with the stipulations of the protocol, declare and proclaim, on the 
part of the United States, a suspension of hostilities, and do hereby com- 
mand that orders be immediately given through the proper channels to the 
commanders of the military and naval forces of the United States to abstain 
from all acts inconsistent with this proclamation. 

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of 
the United States to be affixed. 

Done at the City of Washington, this I2th day of August, in the year of 
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, and of the independ- 
ence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-third. 

William McKinley. 
By the President, William R. Day, Secretary of State. 

In accordance with the proclamation issued by the Presi- 
dent, orders were issued to the naval commanders at the 
several stations in the United States, Cuba and the Philip- 
pines, carrying into effect the directions of the proclamation. 
The navy department not only transmitted the President's 
proclamation in full to the several commanders in chief, 
but also directions as to the disposition of their vessels. 

Washington, Aug. 12. 
Sampson, Santiago: Suspend all hostihties. Blockade of Cuba and Porto 
Rico is raised. Howell ordered to assemble vessels at Key West. Proceed 
with the New York, Brooklyn, Indiana, Oregon, Iowa and Massachusetts to 
Tompkinsville, Staten Island. Place monitors in safe harbor in Porto Rico. 
Watson transfers his flag to Newark, and will remain at Guatanamo. Assem- 
ble all cruisers in safe harbors. Order marines North on Resolute. 

Allen, Acting Secretary. 
Washington, Aug. 12. 
Remey, Key West: In accordance with the President's proclamation tele- 
graphed you, suspend immediately all hostilities. Commence withdrawal of 
vessels from blockade. Order blockading vessels in Cuban waters to assemble 
at Key West. Allen, Acting Secretary. 



PEACE NEGOTIATIONS. 5^7 

Washington, Aug. 12, 1898. 
Dewey, Manila : Peace protocol signed by President. Suspend all hostili- 
ties and blockade. President's proclamation is as follows. (Here followed the 
text of the proclamation). 

Washington. Aug. 12, 1898. 
Merritt, Manila : The President directs that all military operations against 
the enemy be suspended. Peace negotiations are nearing completion, a proto- 
col having just been signed by representatives of the two countries. You will 
inform the commanders of the Spanish forces in the Philippines of these instruc- 
tions. Further orders will follow. Acknowledge receipt. Corbin. 

The order to General Miles was in the same words as 
the above, excepting the names of the officers and places. 

The order to Shafter was somewhat different, directing 
him to do everything possible to prevent further bloodshed. 
This was on account of the continued activity of the insur- 
gents. 

By the signing of the protocol, Spain's last foothold in 
the Western Hemisphere disappeared. In thus retiring 
from the new world, Spain has left behind her those vast 
dominions which once constituted her greatness. She has 
departed forever from the Hemisphere of Freedom, and her 
departure indicates that Freedom has triumphed. The only 
evidence of her former presence in the new world henceforth 
will be the language spoken by the millions of Americans of 
Spanish descent, who are ruling themselves as a free peo- 
ple in the various Spanish-American Republics in Central 
and South America. Spain was, at one time, in possession 
of the greater part of the Americas, — in fact, nearly all of 
the rich lands were part of her possessions. Through mis- 
government she has lost a greater empire than that of 
Rome, and as great as that of the British. 

On August 1 6th, the President appointed the two com- 
missions to adjust the evacuation of Cuba and Porto Rico. 

For Cuba, Major-General James F. Wade, Rear-Admiral 
William T. Sampson, Major-General Marion C. Buder. 



5i8 PEACE NEGOTIATIONS. 

For Porto Rico, Major-General John R. Brooke, Rear- 
Admiral William S. Schley, Brigadier-General William W. 
Gordon, 

The instructions to these military commissions were : 

To meet in Havana, Cuba, and San Juan, Porto Rico, 
and there to examine all real estate records, custom-house 
returns, public papers relating to receipts of revenue, and 
the ownership of property. 

These records to be turned over to the American com- 
missioners together with all public documents necessary to 
the establishment of a new government in Cuba and Porto 
Rico. 

The terms of evacuation, by the Spanish forces also 
to be arranged by these commissioners. 

The following American peace commissioners, to arrange 
for a final treaty of peace at the Paris conference, and to 
settle the future of the Philippine Islands, were ap- 
pointed by President McKinley : 

William R. Day, of Canton, Ohio, Secretary of State, 
formerly a member of the Ohio Bar. 

Cushman K. Davis, United States Senator from Minne- 
sota, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. 

William P. Frye, United States Senator from Maine, 
member of the Foreign Relations Committee. 

George Gray, United States Senator from Delaware. 

Whitelaw Reid, of New York. 

On the 25th of August these commissioners held their 
first meeting in Washington. At this meeting the plans 
of the commission, as to the proceedings at Paris, were 
talked over, and arrangements made to meet the Spanish 
Commissioners at the Paris Peace Conference. 

The Spanish Commissioners were Senor Montero Rios, 



PEACE NEGOTIATIONS. 519 

Chairman ; General Cerero Senor Abarzuza, Senor Villar- 
rutia, and Senor Garnica. 

On September 17th the American Peace Commissioners 
sailed from New York, on board the Campania, in order to 
meet the Spanish Commissioners on or before October ist, 
which had been specified, in the Protocol, as the date of 
the opening of the Peace Conference. 

The American Peace Commissioners were joined at Paris 
on the 3d of October by General Merritt, who had taken 
the route of the Indian Ocean from Manila. 

The very able Spanish Commissioners maintained a 
policy of objection, and especially persisting in putting for- 
ward questions of indemnity, that we should buy their debts 
or supplement conquest with a money remuneration. 

Our Commissioners have maintained the rights of con- 
quest ; the Spaniards, as during the war, were solicitous of 
European sympathy and hoped for some form of interven- 
tion by the Powers that were leagued during the Greco- 
Turkish struggle. 

The Paris Peace Conference, which held its first session 
in the French Foreign Office on the Quai d'Orsay, Paris, 
October ist, practically completed the peace negotiations 
on November 28th, and the Spanish Commissioners ac- 
cepted and signed the American Peace Terms, Dec. loth. 

The first decisive point in the settlement was not reached, 
however, until October 27th, when the Spanish Commis- 
sioners finally became convinced that the United States 
would not withdraw from her determination not to assume 
or guarantee the so-called Cuban Debt, and thereupon 
they agreed to relinquish sovereignty over and claim to 
Cuba, without either terms or conditions. 

On the same day, all differences regarding the cession 
of Porto Rico and the Island of Guam, in the Ladrones, 



520 



PEACE NEGOTIATIONS. 



under the terms of the Peace Protocol, were also ar- 
rancjed. 

The disposition of the Philippines was then brought 
under discussion, and on October 31st the American Com- 
missioners notified their Spanish colleagues of the purpose 
of the United States to take the entire group, and to as- 
sume such portion only of the debt charged to the Islands 
as had been spent for the benefit of them or their inhab- 
itants. Four weeks were occupied in arguing this point 
before a final decision was reached ; the Spanish Commis- 
sioners making their first stand on the assumption that the 
Protocol did not provide for questioning Spanish sover- 
eignty in the Islands. They -further tried to retain Spanish 
sovereignty over part of the Philippine Group, The 
United States Government, however, through its represent- 
atives, demanded the cession of the entire Philippine Archi- 
pelago, including the Sulu Islands, offering a compensation 
of ^20,000,000. It was further declared that it is the pur- 
pose of the United States to maintain the Philippine Islands 
as an open door to the world's commerce. 

On the terms named the United States proposed a mu- 
tual relinquishment of all claims for indemnity, national or 
personal, subsequent to the outbreak of the last Cuban in- 
surrection. It was also declared that the United States de- 
sired to treat: on the religious freedom of the Caroline Isl- 
ands, as agreed upon between the United States and Spain 
in 1886; on the acquisition of one of the Caroline Islands 
for an American naval station ; on cable-landino- rights at 
other places in Spanish jurisdiction, and on the revival of 
certain Spanish-American treaties as heretofore enforced. 

After wrangling over various minor points, and offering 
numerous counter-propositions, the Spanish Commissioners 
finally consented to accept the American terms. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

THE RED CROSS IN OUR WAR WITH SPAIN. 

The Red Cross Society and the Cuban Reconcentiados — Beneficial Results of the 
Work in Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines — The Origin of the Society — Its 
International Recognition — Its Founders and its Great Benefits — Life Sketch of 
Clara Barton. 

Long before there was any idea of a war with Spain for 
the freedom of struggHng Cuba, the Red Cross Societies 
of the United States were carrying on their humanitarian 
rehef work in the interest of the starving reconcentrados 
of that sorrow-stricken Island. Provisions, medicines, and 
clothing were collected and sent for the relief of the suffer- 
ing inhabitants. A steamer was chartered by the Red 
Cross Societies to convey a relief expedition to Cuba, and 
through the humane efforts and wise direction of this great 
organization, the first humanitarian work in Cuba was ac- 
complished. 

This was before the war. After the war broke out the 
Red Cross Society, redoubling its energies, came to the aid 
of the War and Navy Departments of the United States, in 
extending medical and sanitary aid to the American forces 
in Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines, and it is largely 
due this organization there was not a greater loss of life in 
the various camps and battlefields. 

The Red Cross Society is a confederation of relief so- 
cieties in different countries, acting under the Geneva Con- 
vention, carrying on its work under the sign of the Red 
Cross. The aim of these societies is to ameliorate the 
condition of wounded soldiers in the armies, in campaign, 

52» 



522 THE RED CROSS IN OUR WAR WITH SPAIN. 

on land or sea. The societies had their rise in the convic- 
tion of certain philanthropic men that the official sanitary 
service in wars is usually insufficient, and that the charity 
of the people, which at such times exhibits itself munifi- 
cently, should be organized for the best possible utilization. 

An international public conference was called at Geneva, 
Switzerland, in 1863, which, though it had not an official 
character, brought together representatives from a number 
of governments. At this conference a treaty was drawn 
up, afterwards remodeled and improved, which twenty-nve 
ofovernments have sio^ned. Althoucj-h the convention which 
originated the organization was necessarily international, 
the relief societies themselves are entirely national and in- 
dependent, each one governing itself and making its own 
laws according to the genius of its nationality and needs. 

It was necessary for recognizance and safety, and for carry- 
ing out the general provisions of the treaty, that a uniform 
badge should be agreed upon. The Red Cross was chosen 
out of compliment to the Swiss Republic, where the first 
convention was held, and in which the Central Commission 
has its headquarters. The Swiss colors being a white cross 
on a red ground, the badge chosen was these colors re- 
versed. 

There are no " members of the Red Cross," but only 
members of societies whose sign it is. There is no order 
of the Red Cross. 

The Relief Societies use, according to their convenience, 
whatever methods seem best suited to prepare in times of 
peace for the necessities of sanitary service in times of 
war. They gather and store gifts of money and supplies, 
arrange hospitals, ambulances, methods of transportation 
of wounded men, bureaus of information, correspondence, 
etc. All that the most ingenious philanthropy could de- 










-#--#- -4- -4- -♦--»- ^ 4- -»- -I- -♦--*- HK -»-^ 





RED CRO^^ •S£RV/C£ //V rH£F/£LD. 



THE RED CROSS IN OUR WAR WITH SPAIN. 





THE "Y. M. C. A." IN OUR ARMY AND NAVY. 



. THE RED CROSS IN OUR WAR WITH SPAIN. 525 

vise and execute has been attempted in this direction. In 
the Franco-Prussian War this was abundantly tested. That 
Prussia acknowledged its beneficence is proven by the fact 
that the Emperor of Germany affixed the Red Cross to the 
Iron Cross of Merit. 

Although the societies are not international, there is a 
tacit compact between them, arising from their common 
origin, identity of aim, and mutual relation to the treaty. 
This compact embraces four principles, viz. : centralization, 
preparation, impartiality, and solidarity. 

First, centralization. — The efficiency of relief in time of 
war depends on unity of direction ; therefore, in every 
country the relief societies have a common central head, 
to which they send their supplies, and which communicates 
for them with the seat of war or with the surgical military 
authorities, and it is through this central commission they 
have p^overnmental recoo^nition. 

Second, preparation. — It is understood that societies' 
working under the Red Cross shall occupy themselves with 
preparatory work in times of peace. This gives them a 
permanence they could not otherwise have. 

Third, impartiality. — The societies of belligerent nations 
cannot always carry aid to their wounded countrymen who 
are captured by the enemy. This is counterbalanced by 
the regulation that the aid of the Red Cross Societies shall 
be extended alike to friend and foe. 

Fourth, solidarity. — This provides that the societies of 
nations not engaged in war may afford aid to the sick and 
wounded of belligerent nations without effecting any prin- 
ciple of non-interference to which their governments may 
be pledged. Such aid must come through the Central Com- 
mission, and not through either of the belligerent parties, 

thus insuring impartiality of relief. 
30 



526 THE RED CROSS IN OUR WAR WITH SPAIN. 

That these principles are practical has been tested dur- 
ing the time that the Red Cross has existed. The Conven- 
tion of Geneva does not exist as a society, but is simply a 
treaty under which all the relief societies of the Red Cross 
are enabled to carry on their work effectually. 

In time of war, the members and agents of the societies 
to o"0 to the seat of war are obli^^ed to have their badges 
vized by the Central Commission, and by one of the bel- 
ligerents ; this is in order to prevent fraud. Thus the 
societies and the treaty compliment each other. The 
societies find and execute the relief, the treaty affords them 
the immunities which enable them to execute. 

The society had its inception in the mind of Monsieur 
Henri Dumant, a Swiss gentleman, who was ably seconded 
in his views by Monsieur Gustave Moynier and Dr. Louis 
Appia, of Geneva. Monsieur Dumant, being present at 
the battle of Solferino, was deeply impressed with a con- 
viction of the need of more extended and efficient means 
than any which yet existed for ameliorating conditions con- 
sequent upon war, and subsequently published a work en- 
titled "A Souvenir of Solferino," in which he strongly advo- 
cated more humane and extensive appliances of aid to 
wounded soldiers. 

As a result of their thoughts and consultations, M. 
Moynier, who was at that time President of the Society of 
Public Utility of Switzerland, called a meeting of this 
society to consider "a proposition relative to the forma- 
tion of permanent societies for the relief of wounded 
soldiers." This meeting took place on the 9th of February, 
1863. The matter was laid fully before the society, was 
heartily received and acted upon, and a committee ap- 
pointed, with M. Moynier at its head, to examine into 
methods by which the desired results might be obtained. 



THE RED CROSS IN OUR WAR WITH SPAIN. 527 

So fully did this committee realize its responsibility and the 
magnitude, grandeur, and labor of the undertaking that its 
first steps were made even with timidity, but, overcoming 
all obstacles, it decided upon a plan which seemed possible, 
arid announced for the 26th of the following October a re- 
union, to which were invited from all countries men sym- 
pathizing with its views or able to assist in its discus- 
sions. 

This international conference was held at the appointed 
time, continuing four days. The resolutions adopted con- 
tained the fundamental principles of the work since accom- 
plished. Upon this basis was commenced and wrought out 
the Geneva Treaty, and the plan of all the national per- 
manent relief societies. Upon this the Red Cross was 
founded. 

The society during the war with Spain and the distress 
in Cuba, which preceded the outbreak of hostilities, had 
been actively engaged in its humanitarian work of minister- 
ing to the necessities of the men in the field and of the 
suffering Cubans. It had sent many articles of comfort, 
even of life-saving importance, to our troops in their vari- 
ous camps, sometimes in response to most touching appeals. 
It had besides made a large number of shipments of goods, 
clothinof and medicines to the Cubans. 

During the blockade and siege of Santiago, one branch 
of its ministration, the relief of the suffering Cubans in 
that province, was necessarily suspended, but the society 
was not idle, stores continued to be received and money 
to be collected. Among other things the equipment of an 
ambulance and hospital service was accomplished and the 
society put into the field ambulances, with their proper ap- 
purtenances and properly equipped field hospitals. 

The fall of Santiago reopened the opportunity of merci- 



528 THE RED CROSS IN OUR WAR WITH SPAIN. 

ful work in Cuba, and tons of provisions were sent to re- 
lieve tlie sufferinof. 

Shortly after the war broke out the following letter was 
sent to President McKinley, and was sent out, through the 
War Department, with General Order No. 64, to every 
army headquarters in the battlefield and camp : 

HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY. 
Adjutant-General's Office. 

Washington, June 7, 1898. 
By uirection of the Secretary of War, the following letter of the American National 
Red Cross Relief Committee is published to the Army for the information of all con- 
cerned, and announcement is made that the War Department recognizes, for any appro- 
priate co-operative purposes, the American National Red Cross as the civil central 
American Committee in correspondence with the International Committee for the relief 
of the sick and wounded in war : 

AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS RELIEF COMMITTEE. 

Secretary's Office, Room 312, 
Central Bank Building, 320 Broadway. 
New York, May 20, 1898. 
To the President : 

Sir: — In accordance with the request made by you to the Special Committee appointed 
by the American National Red Cross Relief Committee, during its recent visit to you, 
the undersigned members of said Special Committee beg leave to submit the following 
statements for your consideration : 

The American National Red Cross Relief Committee of New York, organized with 
an unlimited number of co-operating and auxiliary bodies throughout the country, for 
the purpose of providing financial and material support to the work of the American 
National Red Cross, Miss Clara Barton, President, begs leave to represent to the Gov- 
ernment of the United States as follows, viz. : 

1. That the American National Red Cross is the duly incorporated committee repre- 
senting the work of the Red Cross in its civil capacity, and is recognized as such by the 
Government of the United States, the governments of other countries, and the Inter- 
national Committee at Geneva. 

2. That we are informed that the said American National Red Cross has given formal 
notice to the Departments of State, War, and Navy, and the Surgeon-Generals of the 
Army and Navy, of its readiness to respond to any call for civil aid to supplement the 
hospital work of the Army and Navy, in accordance with the provisions of the resolu- 
tions of the Geneva Conference of 1863 and the Geneva Convention of 1864, and their 
amendments. 

3. That in order to guarantee the fullest effectiveness of the aid thus offered by the 
Civil Red Cross, this committee hereby gives you official notice that it stands ready, to- 
gether with other co-operating committees, to furnish all necessary money and material 



THE RED CROSS IN OUR IVAR WITH SPAIN. 529 

to support the work of the said American National Red Cross as hereinbefore out- 
lined. 

We beg to request, Mr. President, that you lake the necessary action to have the 
several Departments of the Government duly notified of this financial guarantee of the 
assistance tendered by the American National Red Cross, to the end that the fullest re- 
liance may be placed upon its offer. 

Please favor us with a prompt acknowledgment of this letter and information as to 
your action thereon. 

Respectfully, 

LEVI P. MORTON, 

HENRY C. POTTER., D.D., LL.D., 

WM. T. WARDWELL, 

GEO. F. SHRADY, M.D., 

A. MONAE LESSER, M.D., 

Committee. 
By command of MAJOR-GENERAL MILES. 

H. C. CORBIN, Adjutant-General. 

The insignia of this Society has for thirty years figured 
on European battlefields in the midst of contending armies, 
designating neutral grounds where the suffering wounded 
could be ministered to and relieved. But by reason of our 
geographical location and the neutral tendency of the 
American people to maintain peaceful relations with the 
world, the war between Spain and the United States has 
offered to the American branches the first opportunity for 
actual work. 

A life sketch of Clara Barton, President of the American 
National Red Cross Society, is inseparable from the story 
of the Red Cross work. This most noted of all humani- 
tarians was born in North Oxford, Mass., in 1826. She is 
of Puritan ancestry, and was carefully educated. When 
quite young she founded a seminary for girls at Elizabeth- 
town, N. J. She next became a clerk in the Patent Office 
at Washington, being the first woman to hold a regular 
clerical position under the Government. 

During the Rebellion she gave her time and energies to 
caring for the sick and wounded. She led in forming the 



530 THE RED CROSS IN OUR WAR WITH SPAIN. 

famous Sanitary Commission, and was present at Bull Run, 
Antietam, Spottsylvania, and a number of other eno-ao-e- 
ments of the war. She also aided the Andersonville prison- 
ers upon their release, and organized at Washington the 
Bureau of Records, which traced the fate of over 30,000 
missing men. 

In 1867 she visited Europe, being at Geneva when the 
Franco-Prussian war broke out. She at once joined in the 
work of the Red Cross Society and nursed the sick and 
wounded at Strasburg and Metz. Entering Paris during 
the days of the Commune, she distributed food and cloth- 
ing to the needy. 

" Mon Dieu, she is an angel," were the words of the 
French mob when she came to the door of her lodfrines and 
spoke to them after they had overcome the police. This 
voices the sentiment of many thousands of the unfortunate 
and suffering in this and other lands, who have received 
timely relief and succor at the hand of Clara Barton. 

Returning to the United States in 1873, she inaugurated 
the movement for the recognition of the Red Cross Society 
by the Government, and her labors were rewarded by the de- 
sired recognition durino^ President Arthur's administration. 

When the society was organized, in 1882, she naturally 
became its first President. In this capacity she superin- 
tended the work of succoring those afflicted by the great 
Michigan forest fires and the disastrous earthquake at 
Charleston. The disbursement of vast sums of money to 
sufferers by floods on the Ohio and Mississippi, in 1884, 
was given into her charge, and likewise at the terrible halo- 
caust at Johnstown, Pa., in 1889. 

When the Cuban sufferings appalled the civilized world, 
Clara Barton, forgetful of her own comforts, hurried to 
Cuba to direct the work of the Red Cross Society. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

OUR WEST INDIES. 

Our First West Indian Possessions — The Annexation of Porto Rico — Centre of the 
West Indian Commerce — Surprising Density of Population — Beautiful Scenery — 
Resources and Trade — The Tremendous Possibilities of the Cuban Soil if Put 
Under Cultivation — Opportunities for Capitalists — The Danish West Indies and 
How We Came Near Possessing Them. 

The Stars and Stripes were raised over Porto Rico, Oc- 
tober 1 8th, and on that day we added to our population 
over 800,000 people, and to our territory 3,670 square 
miles. It was called Expansion Day. There was a parade 
at San Juan. General Brooke marched into the city, from 
Rio Pedras, with a guard of honor. The natives were 
pleased with the ceremonial, and, when the flag went up, it 
was greeted with cheers and the forts in th'^ harbor fired 
their first round of American salutes. 

Porto Rico, by its geographical position, is peculiarly 
adapted to become the center of an extensive and flourish- 
ing commerce. It is the fourth in size of the Greater An- 
tilles, and lies to the eastward of Cuba, Santo Domingo, and 
Jamaica, and directly in the path of the new commercial 
routes from the Old World, that will pass through the 
Nicaragua Canal. It is within a few hours' sail of any of 
the Lesser Antilles, and only five hundred miles from Cara- 
cas, Venezuela. 

This Island is more cultivated than Cuba, as may be seen 
from the greater density of her population. Cuba has 
thirty-five inhabitants to the square mile, while Porto Rico 

531 



532 



OUR WEST INDIES. 



has 228. The Island is only one-thirteenth the size of Cuba, 
yet the population of Cuba is only twice that of Porto Rico. 

Amonor the inhabitants there are two classes in Porto 
Rico : the merchant and planter class, and the peasants. 
The former are mostly well to do, while the latter are, as a 
rule, very poor. 

The negroes number 300,000. 

The climate is considered the healthiest of the Antilles. 
The scenery is beautiful. The Island is well watered and 
well timbered. 

It is very mountainous, but is surrounded by a border of 
lowland from two to four miles wide. This is used for grow- 
ing sugar-cane, while coffee is chiefly grown on the hills and 
mountain sides. There are also numerous orange groves. 
The orange, lemon, and lime are found, here and there, 
growing wild along the roadside. Cocoanuts grow prin- 
cipally along the coast. 

Zinc, coal, and salt, and deposits of gold, silver, and cop- 
per, have been located, and there are also valuable marble 
quarries on the Island. 

The export trade of the Island averages about $12,- 
000,000, while the imports amount, annually, to about 
<^ 1 5,000,000. 

Its entire length is about 107 miles, while the greatest 
breadth is almost 50 miles. A range of mountains runs 
from east to west, its loftiest peak being 3,678 feet high. 

In the interior are extensive savannas or elevated plains 
on which numerous herds of catde are pastured. 

Nearly the whole of the northern coast is lined with navi- 
gable lagoons, and many of the rivers are of such astonish- 
ing breadth and depth that it is difficult to realize how such 
large bodies of water could gather in so short a course. 
Many of these rivers can be navigated for a considerable 



OUR WEST INDIES. 



533 



distance, and this facility of water carriage is of great im- 
portance to the natives, who can thus safely and cheaply 
export the products of their fertile hills and valleys. 

The unusual abundance of water in this Island is invalu- 
able during the dry season for irrigation purposes. 

The total exports in 1895 were almost ^16,000,000. Im- 
ports, <^ 1 8,000,000. 

In 1895, 1,077 vessels entered the ports of Porto Rico, 
representing a tonnage of 1,079,036. 

In Porto Rico there are 470 miles of telegraph and 137 
miles of railway, besides 170 miles under construction. 

Cuba is superior to the rest of the tropical lands in this 
Hemisphere, with the possible exception of Porto Rico. It 
has but a small proportion of untillable areas, such as are 
found in some of the northeastern States. There are no 
such sterile lands as occur in Central America ; no such 
arid wastes as occur in a large portion of Mexico and our 
far western States. No stretches of barren sandy lands, 
like those of Florida and other coastal southern States. 
Its proportion of swamp lands is less than that of the aver- 
age American seaboard State. The whole Island is mantled 
with rich soils which yield, in abundance, every form of 
useful vegetation of the tropical and temperate climes. 

Cuba is divided into six prov'nces, each with a capital of 
the same name. Only 10 per cent, of the total area is cul- 
tivated. There are large tracts of country still unexplored. 

Four per cent, is in forest land and the remainder, for the 
most part, unreclaimed wilderness. Its area is slighdy less 
than that of the State of New York. 

Although Cuba is the oldest setdement in America, it is 
one of the most undeveloped portions of the Western 
Hemisphere, and there will be a great opportunity for 
American enterprise, in the direction of building railroads, 



534 



OUR WEST INDIES. 



public highways, bridges, telegraph lines, harbors and 
docks ; of improving the water supply, and sanitary facili- 
ties of the cities, and through these improvements make 
it more possible to develop the great resources of this 
beautiful Island. 

The population of the Island, according to the most recent 
census, was 1,631,696, of which 45 percent, are negroes. 

The number of landed estates on the Island, before the 
outbreak of the last rebellion, was estimated at 91,000, 
valued at ^44,000,000, drawing a rental of $3,400,000. 

The live-stock consisted of 584,725 horses and mules; 
2,485,766 cattle; 78,494 sheep, and 570,194 pigs. 

The chief productions are sugar and tobacco. The quan- 
tity of sugar produced jn the year 1894-95 was 1,004,264 
tons. The rebellion has destroyed a large part of the sugar 
cultivation, and the above production will not be duplicated 
for some years. 

The tobacco crop is estimated at 560,000 bales annually, 
an average of 340,000 bales being exported, and the re- 
mainder used in the manufacture of ci^rars and ciofarettes in 
Havana. 

The cigars exported, in 1896, numbered 185,914,000. 

Tobacco leaf exported, in 1895, ^^^ 30,466,000 pounds; 
in 1896, 16,823,000 pounds. 

The districts where fine leaf tobacco is grown suffered 
so severely from the rebellion that the tobacco crop is only 
about one-tenth of the ordinary yield. Nearly all of the 
tobacco and nearly one-half of the cigars go to the United 
States. 

Mahogsny and other timbers are exported, as are also 
honey, wax, and fruit. 

The chief imports are rice, jerked beef, and flour. 

The total number of mining titles issued was 296. Of 



OUR WEST INDIES. 



535 



the mines reported and claimed, 138 were iron, 88 manga- 
nese, and 53 copper. Iron mines are worked at the eastern 
end of the Island near Santiago de Cuba, by two American 
Companies. There are about 1,000 miles of railway oper- 
ated by various companies, and the larger sugar estates 
have private lines connecting them with the main railroads. 
There are 2,300 miles of telegraph lines. 

To guard the new possessions that have come to us, di- 
rectly or indirectly, from the War with Spain, it will be 
necessary not only to increase our Army and Navy, and 
send troops and warships for their defense, but we must 
also fortify the harbors and cities of the Islands that will be 
under our protection. Many of these Islands are already 
supplied with strong defenses, which can easily be made 
efficient for defense ao^ainst modern war machines. Some, 
however, are lacking protection of any kind, and these we 
must prepare to defend with strong fortresses. 

It will be interesting to a great many to know that, at 
one time, we were seriously considering the question of 
purchasing the Danish West India Islands. 

In 1866, Secretary of State Seward visited the Danish 
West Indies, and became convinced of their desirability as 
an acquisition to the United States for national defense 
purposes. 

After returning to the United States he immediately 
turned his attention to the acquisition of these Islands, by 
purchase from Denmark. The Danish Government at first 
declined to part with her West Indian possessions, but, 
prompted by a sincere desire to favor the wishes of the 
United States, Denmark finally consented to entertain a 
proposition to sell a part of her possessions, but refused 
to dispose of more than two Islands. Denmark had the 
sympathy of the people of America in her disastrous strug- 



536 OUR WEST INDIES. 

gle with the Allied Powers in 1864, and there was little 
wonder that the Danes consented to enter into a treaty 
with the United States for the transfer of those Islands to 
our country. The only condition under which the little 
monarchy would transfer the Islands, however, was that 
the inhabitants should agree, by ballot, to the transfer of 
allegiance. The vote was taken on January 9, 1868, and 
resulted, almost unanimously, in favor of annexation to the 
United States. 

The failure of the United States Senate to ratify the 
treaty thus solemnly entered into by the governments of 
Denmark and the United States marks one of the saddest 
pages in the history of American diplomacy, as it was the 
United States that had made the offer to Denmark, and 
when that country finally consented to part with her Islands, 
refused to accept them. 

In a report to President Lincoln, on the question of es- 
tablishing a naval station in the West Indies, Admiral Por- 
ter wrote as follows : 

"St. Thomas lies rio^ht in the track of all vessels from Eu- 
rope, Brazil, the East Indies, and the Pacific Ocean, bound 
to the West India Islands or to the United States. It is the 
point where all vessels touch for supplies, when needed, 
coming from any of the above stations. It is a central 
point from which any or all of the West India Islands can 
be assailed, while it is impervious to attack from landing 
parties and can be fortified to any extent. The bay on 
which lies the town of St. Thomas is almost circular, the 
entrance being by a neck guarded by two heavy forts, 
which can be so strengthened and protected that no foreign 
power can ever hope to take it. St. Thomas is a small 
Gibraltar by itself, and could not be attacked by a naval 
force. There would be no possibility of landing troops 



OUR WEST INDIES. 537 

there, as the island is surrounded by reefs and breakers, 
and every point near which a vessel or boat could approach 
is a natural fortification, and only requires guns with little 
labor expended on fortified works. There is no harbor in 
the West Indies better fitted than St. Thomas for a naval 
station. Its harbor and that of St. John, and the harbor 
formed by the Water Island, would contain all the vessels 
of the largest navy in the world, where they would be pro- 
tected at all times from bad weather and be secure against 
an enemy. In fine, St. Thomas is the keystone to the arch 
of the West Indies. It commands them all. It is of more 
importance to us than to any other nation." 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

THE STORY OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

The Picturesqueness, Commercial Value and Historic Interest of the Philippine 
Islands — The Agricultural Industry as Manipulated by the Natives — 
Manila one of the Greatest Commercial Centres of the Orient — The Siege 
of Manila by the English in the Year 1762 — A Historical Coincidence. 

The most populous and prosperous province of the 
Philippines takes its name from the fortification of Manila ; 
and the port of Manila is among the best-known and most 
frequented harbors of the Eastern world. The capital is 
renowned for the splendor of its religious processions, for 
the excellence of its cheroots, which, to the east of the Cape 
of Good Hope, are generally preferred to the cigars of 
Havana ; while the less honorable characteristics of the peo- 
ple are known to be a universal love of gambling, which is 
exhibited among the Indian races by a passion for cock- 
fighting, an amusement, made a productive source of 
revenue to the state. Artists usually introduce a Philippine 
Indian with a game-cock under his arm, to which he seems 
as much attached as a Bedouin Arab to his horse. It is 
said that many a time an Indian has allowed his wife and 
children to perish in the flames, when his house has taken 
fire, but was never known to fail in securing his favorite 
gallo from danger. 

The bay of Manila, one of the finest in the world, and the 
river Pasig which flows into it, were, no doubt, the great 
recommendations of the position chosen for the capital of 
the Philippines. During the four months of March, April, 
May and June, the heat and dust are very oppressive, and 

538 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 539 

the mosquitoes a fearful annoyance. These months are 
followed by a rainy season, but on the whole the climate is 
good, and the general mortality not great. The average 
temperature through the year is 81° Fahrenheit. 

There is a quarantine station at Cavite, a town of consid- 
erable importance on the other side of the harbor. It has a 
large manufacturing establishment of cigars, and gives its 
name to the surrounding province, which has about 57,000 
inhabitants, among whom are about 7,000 mestizos (mixed 
race) , 

The life at Manila is said to be intolerably monotonous, 
and Sir John Bowring, in " A Visit to the Philippine Islands," 
says : " In my short stay it appeared to me full of interest 
and animation, but I was perhaps privileged. The city is 
certainly not lively, and the Spaniard is generally grave, 
but he is warm-hearted and hospitable, and must not be 
studied at a distance nor condemned with precipitancy. 
He is, no doubt, susceptible and pundonoroso, but is rich in 
noble qualities. Confined, as is the population of Manila 
within the fortification walls, the neighboring country is 
full of attractions. To me, the villages, the beautiful tropi- 
cal vegetation, the banks of the rivers, and the streams 
adorned with scenery so picturesque and pleasing, were 
more inviting than the gayety of the public parade. Every 
day afforded some variety, and most of the pueblos have 
their characteristic distinctions. Malate is filled with pub- 
lic offices, and women employed in ornamenting slippers 
with gold and silver embroidery. Santa Ana is a favorite 
Villagiatura for the merchants and opulent inhabitants. 
Near Paco, is the cemetery, ' where dwell the multitude,' 
in which are interred the remains of many of the once 
distinguished who have ceased to be. Guadalupe is illus- 
trious for its miraculous image, and Paco, for that of the 



540 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

Saviour. The Lake of Arroceros (as its name implies) 
is one of tlie principal gathering places for boats laden 
with rice ; near it, too, are large manufactories of paper 
cigars. Edifices of superior construction are generally the 
abodes of the mestizos, or of the gobernadorcillos belonging 
to the different pueblos. 

" Philip the Third gave armorial bearings to the capital, 
and conferred on it the title of the 'Very Noble City of 
Manila,' and attached the dignity of ' Excellency ' to the 
Ayuntamiento (municipality). 

" During my stay at Manila, every afternoon, at five or 
six o'clock, the Governor-General called for me at my 
apartments, and escorted by cavalry lancers we were con- 
veyed in a carriage and four to different parts of the neigh- 
borhood, the rides lasting from one to two hours. We 
seldom took the same road, and thus visited, not only all 
the villages in the vicinity, but passed through much 
beautiful country, in which the attention was constantly 
arrested by the groups of graceful bamboos, the tall cocoa- 
nut trees, the large-leafed plantains, the sugar-cane, the 
papaya, the green paddy-fields, in which many people were 
fishing — and who knows when the fields are dry what be- 
comes of the fish, for they never fail to appear again when 
irrigation has taken place — and that wonderful variety and 
magnificence of tropical vegetation — leaves and flowers so 
rich and gorgeous, on which one never becomes tired of 
gazing." 

Charles Wilkes, U. S. N., in his description of the ex- 
ploring expedition of 1838-42, writes : 

"So far as our information and observations went, the 
whole of the Philippine Islands are of similar geological 
formation. In some of the islands the volcanic rock pre- 
vails, while in others coal and the metalliferous deposits 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 543 

predominate. On some of them the coal-beds form part 
of the diffs along the shore ; on others copper is found in 
a chlorite and talcose state. The latter is more particu- 
larly the case with Luzon, and the same formation extends 
to Mindoro. Much iron occurs on the mountains. Thus, 
among the Tagala natives, who are as yet unsubdued by 
the Spaniards, and who inhabit these mountains, it is found, 
by them, of so pure a quality that it is manufactured into 
swords and cleavers. These are occasionally obtained by 
the Spaniards in their excursions into the interior against 
these bands. 

"The country around Manila is composed of tufa of a 
light grey color, which, being soft and easily worked, is 
employed as the common building material in the city. It 
contains, sometimes, scoria and pumice, in pieces of various 
sizes, besides occasional impressions of plants, with petrified 
woods. These are confined to recent species, and include 
palms, etc. 

"This tufa forms one of the remarkable features of the 
volcanoes of the Philippine Islands, showing a strong con- 
trast between them and those of the Pacific Islands which 
have ejected little else than lava and scoria. 

" Few portions of the globe seem to be so much the seat 
of internal fires, or to exhibit the effects of volcanic action 
so strongly as the Philippines. During our visit it was not 
known that any of the volcanoes were in action ; but many 
of them were smoking, particularly that in the district of 
Albay, called Isaroc. Its latest eruption was in the year 
1839; but this did litde damage compared with that of 
18 14, which covered several villages, and the country for a 
great distance around, with ashes. This mountain is situ- 
ated to the southeast of Manila one hundred and fifty miles, 
and is said to be a perfect cone, with a crater at its apex. 

3» 



544 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

" It does not appear that the islands are much affected by 
earthquakes, although some have occasionally occurred 
that have done damage to the churches at Manila. 

" The coal, which we have spoken of, is deemed of value ; 
it has a strong resemblance to the bituminous coal of our 
own country, possesses a bright lustre, and appears very free 
from all woody texture when fractured. It is found asso- 
ciated with sandstone, which contains many fossils. Lead 
and copper are reported as being very abundant ; gypsum 
and limestone occur in some districts. From this it will 
be seen that these islands have everything in the mineral 
way to constitute them desirable possessions. 

" With such mineral resources and a soil capable of pro- 
ducing the most varied vegetation of the tropics, a liberal 
policy is all that the country lacks. The products of the 
Philippine Islands consist of sugar, coffee, hemp, indigo, 
rice, tortoise-shells, hides, ebony, saffron-wood, sulphur, 
cotton, cordage, silk, pepper, cocoa, wax, and many other 
articles. In their agricultural operations the people are 
industrious, although much labor is lost by the use of defec- 
tive implements. The plough, of very simple construction, 
has been adopted from the Chinese ; it has no coulter, the 
share is flat, and being turned partly to one side, answers 
in a certain degree to the purpose of a mould board. This 
rude implement is sufficient for the rich soils, where the 
tillage depends chiefly upon the harrow, in constructing 
which, a thorny species of bamboo is used. The harrow is 
formed of five or six pieces of this material, on which the 
thorns are left, firmly fastened together. It answers its 
purpose well, and is seldom out of order. A wrought-iron 
harrow, that was introduced by the Jesuits, is used for 
clearing the ground more effectually, and more particularly 
for the purpose of extirpating a troublesome grass, that is 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 545 

known by the name of cogon (a species of Andropogon), 
of which it is very difficult to rid the fields. The bolo, or 
long-knife, a basket and hoe, complete the list of imple- 
ments, and answer all the purposes of our spades, etc." 

The buffalo is, perhaps, the most useful of Philippine 
quadrupeds. Immense herds of wild buffaloes are found 
in the interior, but the tamed animal is employed in the 
labors of the fields and the transport of commodities, 
whether on its back or in wagons. Its enjoyment is to be 
merged in water or mud. 

The buffalo was used, until within a few years, exclusively 
in their agriculture, and they have lately taken to the use of 
the ox ; but horses are never used. The buffalo, from the 
slowness of his motions and exceeding restlessness under 
the heat of the climate, is ill adapted to agricultural labor, 
but the natives are very partial to them, notwithstanding 
they occasion them much trouble in bathing them during 
the great heat. This is absolutely necessary, or the animal 
becomes so fretful as to be unfit for use. If it were not for 
this, the buffalo would, notwithstanding his slow pace, be a 
most effective animal in agricultural operations ; he requires 
little food, and that of the coarsest kind ; his strength sur- 
passes that of the stoutest ox, and he is admirably adapted 
for the rice or paddy-fields. They are very docile when 
used by the natives, and even children can manage them, 
but it is said they have a great antipathy to the whites, and 
all strangers. The usual mode of guiding them is by a 
small cord attached to the cartilage of the nose. The yoke 
rests on the neck before the shoulders, and is of simple 
construction. To this is attached v/hatever it may be neces- 
sary to draw, either by traces, shafts, or other fastenings. 
Frequently this animal may be seen with large bundles of 
bamboo lashed to it on each side. Buffaloes are to be 



546 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

met with on the lake, with no more than their noses and 
eyes out of the water, and are not visible until they are 
approached within a few feet, when they cause alarm to the 
passengers by raising their large forms close to the boat. 
It is said that they resort to the lake to feed on a favorite 
grass that grows on its bottom in shallow water, and which 
they dive for. Their flesh is not eaten, except that of the 
young ones, for it is tough and tasteless. The milk is 
nutritious, and of a character between that of the goat and 
cow. 

The general appearance of the buffalo is that of a hybrid 
of the bull and rhinoceros. Its horns do not rise upwards, 
are very close at tlie roots, bent backwards, and of a trian- 
gular form, with a flat side above. One of the peculiarities 
of the buffalo is its voice, which is quite low, and in the 
minor key, resembling that of a young colt. It is as fond 
of mire as swine, and shows the consequence of recent wal- 
lowing, in being crusted over with mud. The skin is 
visible, being but thinly covered with hair ; its color is 
usually that of a mouse, or occasionally darker. 

Rice is the principal agricultural product, the article 
upon which the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands depend 
most for food and profit ; of this they have several different 
varieties, which the natives distinguish by their size and the 
shape of the grain. 

Being of far more general production it is estimated 
to give an average yearly profit of from i 2 to 20 per cent. ; 
cocoanuts may be considered at about equal to rice in the 
yearly benefits they leave, but the conditions are so various 
that it may be difficult to generalize. It may, however, be 
asserted, with tolerable certainty, that money, employed with 
ordinary prudence, in agricultural investments will give an 
interest of from 20 to 30 per cent. 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 547 

The consumption of rice is universal, and the superfluity 
of the harvests is taken to the Chinese markets. The 
varieties of rice may be classed under the two general 
heads of water and mountain rice. The aquatic rice is 
cultivated in Europe and America ; the sowing of the dry 
rice usually precedes that of the water rice, and takes place 
at the end of May. It is usually sown broadcast on the 
hills, requires to be hoed and weeded, and is ripened in 
from three to five months. 

There are four species of water-culdvated, and five of 
mountain-produced rice. Of the first-class, the lamuyo is 
principally cultivated, especially in Batangas. The barbed 
rice grows in Ilocos. Of the mountain rice, that called 
quinanda is the most esteemed. The cultivation of the 
water rice begins by the preparation of the seed deposits 
into which, at the beginning of the rainy season, the seed is 
thrown, after a thorough impregnation of the ground with 
water, oi which several inches remain on the surface. 
Ploughing and harrowing produce a mass of humid mud. 
During the growth of the seed, irrigation is continued, and 
after six weeks the crops are ready for transplanting to the 
rice-fields. Men generally pull up the plants and convey 
them to the fields, where women, up to their knees in mire 
separate the plants and place them in holes at a regular 
distance of about five inches from one another. They are 
left for some days to take root, when the grounds are again 
irrigated. The rice grows to the height of somewhat more 
than a yard, and after four months is ready for harvest. It 
is a common usage to cut every ear separately with an in- 
strument whose Indian name \s yatap. In some parts a 
sickle called a lilit is used. The lilit has a crook by which 
a number of ears are collected, and, being grasped with the 
left hand, are cut by the serrated blade of the sickle held 



548 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

in the right hand. The crops of aquatic rice vary from 
thirty to eighty fold. 

The mountain rice is sown broadcast after ploughing and 
harrowing, and buffaloes are employed to trample the seed 
into the ground. More care is sometimes taken, and holes 
made at regular distances, into which three or four grains 
of rice are dropped. Careful cultivation and great atten- 
tion to the removal of weeds will produce hundred-fold 
crops. 

It is said that a third of the rice harvest has been known 
to perish in consequence of the dilatory and lazy way in 
which the reaping is conducted. 

The sugar cane thrives well here. It is planted after the 
French fashion, by sticking the piece diagonally into the 
ground. Some, finding the cane has suffered in times of 
drought, have adopted other modes. It comes to perfection 
in a year, and they seldom have two crops from the same 
piece of land, unless the season is very favorable. 

There are several varieties of the sugar-cane. The plant- 
ing of the sprouts takes place between February and May. 
Weeds are removed by ploughing, and the plants ripen in 
ten or twelve months. In some provinces crops are cul- 
tivated for three successive years ; in others, the soil is 
allowed to rest an intermediate year, and maize or other 
produce grown. When cut, the canes are carried to mills 
by the natives to be crushed. The mills consist of two 
cylindrical stones with teeth of the molave wood ; a buffalo 
turns the wheel and the juice is conveyed to the boilers. 
The improvements of the West are being slowly intro- 
duced, and sundry economical processes have been adopted. 
Increasing demand, extended cultivation, and, above all, the 
application of larger capital and greater activity, will, un- 
doubtedly, make the Philippines one of the great producing 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 549 

countries. A variety of tables have been printed, showing 
that the average annual profits on coffee cultivation are 
from 20 to 30 per cent. ; in some provinces considerably 
more. 

The coffee plant is well adapted to these islands. A 
few plants were introduced into the gardens of Manila, 
during the end of the i8th Century, since which time it 
has been spread all over the island, as it is supposed, 
by the civet-cats, which, after swallowing the seeds, carry 
them to a distance before they are voided. 

The coffee of commerce is obtained from the wild plant, 
and is of an excellent quality. Upwards of two thousand 
tons of coffee are now exported, of which one-sixth goes 
to the United States. 

Manila hemp is also a great article of commerce, especi- 
ally between these Islands and the United States. That 
which comes to the United States is principally manufac- 
tured into rope. A large quantity is also manufactured 
into mats. The exports of hemp in 1896 valued at 
^7,500,000, amounted to over 100,000 tons. 

It will be merely necessary to give the prices at which 
laborers are paid, to show how low the compensation is, in 
comparison with those in our own country. In the vicinity 
of Manila, twelve and a half cents per day is the usual 
wages ; this, in the provinces, falls to nine and even as low 
as six cents. A man with two buffaloes is paid about 
thirty cents. The amount of labor performed by the latter, 
in a day, would be the plowing of a soane, about two-tenths 
of an acre. The most profitable way of employing laborers 
is by the task, when, it is said, the natives work well, and 
are industrious. 

The manner in which the sugar and other produce is 
brought to market at Manila is peculiar, and deserves to be 



55© THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

mentioned. In some of the villages the chief men unite to 
build a vessel, generally a pirogue, in which they embark their 
produce, under the conduct of a few persons who go to navi- 
gate it and dispose of the cargo. In due time they make 
their voyage, and when the accounts are settled, the returns 
are distributed to each accordingr to his share. Festivites are 
then held, the saints thanked for their kindness, and bless- 
ings invoked for another year. After this^ is over the vessel 
is taken carefully to pieces and distributed among the 
owners to be preserved for the next season. 

The profits in the crops, according to estimates, vary 
from sixty to one hundred per cent., but it was thought, as 
a general average, that this was, notwithstanding the great 
productiveness of the soil, far beyond the usual profits ac- 
cruing from agricultural operations. In some provinces 
this estimate would hold good, and probably be exceeded. 

Indigo would probably be a lucrative crop, for that raised 
here is said to be of a quality equal to the best, and the 
crop is not subject to so many uncertainties as in India ; the 
capital and attention required in vats, etc., prevent it from 
being raised in any quantities. Among the productions 
the bamboo and rattan ought to claim a particular notice, 
from their great utility ; they enter into almost everything. 
Of the former their houses are built, including frames, floors, 
sides and roof; fences are made of the same material, as 
well as every article of household use. 

The total export trade of the Philippine Islands during 
1896 was over 5^21,000,000, while the imports amounted 
to a little over ^i 1,000,000. 

The occupation of the Philippine Islands and the capture 
of Manila by our Asiatic Squadron calls to mind a coin- 
dence in the history of these Islands. They were visited 
by the English almost in the same way, and with the same 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 551 

result as in our case during the war with Spain. The 
account of the seige of Manila by the English which is 
here given, will be found very interesting. It has been 
taken from the historical writing of an eye-witness, Mar- 
tinez De Zuniga. 

" The courts of England and Spain had declared war in 
the month of November, 1761, but nothing of this was 
known at Manila, although there were reasons for our 
being, in some degree, on our guard. A priest, who held a 
correspondence with the English on the coast, received in- 
formation of an expedition which was preparing there. On 
the 14th of September, 1762, an English vessel appeared 
in the bay, which would not admit our officers on board, 
and having made soundings all over the bay, sailed again 
by the point of Mariveles. 

"The Mahicas Indians informed us they had seen a large 
ship of two tiers of guns, and manned with white men, the 
captain of which had put many questions to them respect- 
ing the ships which traded to New Spain. It afterwards 
appeared that an English fleet had sailed from Madras the 
beginning of August for the express purpose of taking 
Manila. 

" On the 2 2d of September, at half past five in the after- 
noon, a fleet was discovered consisting of thirteen sail, and 
notwithstanding that he was taken by surprise, the governor 
immediately adopted every needful measure of defence, and 
sent reinforcements to Cavite. On the morning of the 
following day two English officers landed, and brought the 
message of Admiral Cornish, who commanded the squad- 
ron, and Brigadier General Draper, who commanded the 
troops, stating that they had orders from the King of 
Great Britain to take possession of these islands, and they 
demanded an immediate surrender, for if any resistance 



552 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

were made, having- a force sufficiently formidable to attain 
the object in view, they should commence hostilities as 
soon as they received an unfavorable reply. The governor 
answered, that the proposition they had made could not be 
accepted by subjects faithful to their allegiance, and that 
they were ready to lose their lives in the defence of the 
honor of their sovereign. The squadron, in consequence, 
approached near the south front of the powder manufac- 
tory, and about six in the afternoon they took possession 
of that redoubt, in which our people had left some salt- 
petre, and other effects, having only had time to remove 
the powder. Supported by the fire of the squadron, they 
took possession successively of the churches of Malate, La 
Hermita, San Juan de Bagunbayan, and Santiago, and of 
all the houses in those suburbs of Manila. 

" The whole force in Manila consisted of the King's regi- 
ment, which was so reduced by death and desertion, and 
by different detachments in the galleons and garrisons, 
that they could scarcely muster five hundred and fifty men, 
of which the artillery consisted of eighty, most of them In- 
dians, very little accustomed to the use of great guns. 

" On the morning of the 27th, at eight o'clock, some In- 
dians and Mestizos, without having any orders to that 
effect, presented themselves before the advanced guard of 
the English camp, fell upon them, and drove them from 
their posts, but a reinforcement of three hundred men ar- 
riving, the advantage was lost and the Indians repulsed, to 
whom a signal was made to leave the field open, in order 
that the artillery might play upon the enemy. 

" The bombardment now continued with vigor. The ene- 
my had, in the commencement of the siege, placed three 
mortars behind the church of Santiago, to which they added 
another battery of three more mortars, which threw the 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 553 

whole city Into consternation. On the 29th, they fired against 
the houses of the governor and admiral, but without effect; 
the shots which were fired horizontally, reaching only to the 
beach, and those which they threw by elevation passing 
over the fort to the other side. 

" On the second of October, at day-break, a battery of 
eight twenty-four pounders opened against the angle of the 
foundry bulwark, and by ten in the morning the whole of 
the parapet was a ruin. The enemy, at the same time, di- 
rected their shells against that battery from nine mortars 
of various calibres, assisted by the fire of two ships in front; 
and so hot was the fire that we picked up four thousand 
balls of twenty-four pounds. But what incommoded the 
place most was the fusileers, who could see, from the tower 
and church of Santiago all that passed in the city, and they 
could fire as they pleased against its defenders. Notwith- 
standing such a heavy fire directed against a bulwark with- 
out a parapet, only seven men were killed and about twenty 
wounded. Our people endeavored to get possession of 
the church of Santiago, and the artillery, but could not suc- 
ceed. The ships discontinued their fire about sunset, but 
the fire from the camp continued all night, and dismounted 
the artillery of our bastion, so that it became necessary to 
abandon It; the same night, or rather in the morning of the 
3d, it was resolved that a sortie should be made from the 
fort. About five thousand Indians had arrived from the 
provinces, of which two thousand Pampangos were selected 
for the undertakirig; they were divided into three columns 
to advance by different routesn the first, under command 
of Don Francisco Rodriguez, was to attack the church of 
Santiago ; the second, commanded by Don Santiago Oren- 
dain, was ordered to throw itself upon Malate and Hermlta; 
the third, was to attack the troops on the beach, and was 



554 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

commanded by Eslava y Bastos; the whole to be supported 
by two piquets of fusileers. The Indians were no sooner 
on the outside of the fort than they began a loud outcry, 
which prepared the enemy for their reception ; and when 
the column, commanded by Rodriguez, arrived near the 
English camp, the Indians hesitated to advance ; but being 
urged on by the famous Manalastas, their chief, they pro- 
ceeded and finding the church of Santiago abandoned, they 
ascended the tower and began to ring the bells ; but the 
peals were of very short duration, for the English fell upon 
them and scarcely allowed them time to retreat. 

"The other column, which was ordered to advance on 
Hermita, marched with the utmost silence until Orendain 
gave them orders to attack, when they began with their 
accustomed bowlings and beating of their drums, and thus 
threw the English camp into complete disorder. The Eng- 
lish general put his troops under arms and commenced a 
fire on the Pampangos, who were speedily put to flight, and 
their confusion was so great that every shot told. Two 
hundred were left dead on the field, and Orendain, clapping 
spurs to his horse, was very soon out of all personal danger. 
From this time forward he was considered as a traitor, and 
after Manila was delivered up to the English, many were 
even more inclined to believe this, as he was much seen with 
the English, although nothing was actually proven against 
him. The third column was more fortunate, as, without hav- 
ing done or received any damage they returned with more 
honor than the rest. This action, however, so intimidated 
the Indians that they almost all retreated to their towns. 
The fire from the battery did not cease during all this time, 
and demolished the whole face and platform of the works 
of the foundry, whose ruins filled up the fosse; but what 
caused the greatest uneasiness was a battery which the 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 555 

enemy had constructed, and which, at twelve o'clock at 
noon, was opened against the works of San Andres and 
San Eugenio, and so hot was the fire, that in two hours, the 
guns were dismounted from their carriages, the parapets 
thrown down and several fusileers and workmen killed, 
and though new parapets were twice replaced with timber 
and bags of sand, they were immediately demolished. The 
Governor held a council of war that same evening, at which 
were present the staff officers, the Royal Audience, the 
deputies of the city and the prelates. The military men 
gave their opinion for a capitulation, the rest were for ob- 
stinately continuing the defence, availing themselves of the 
usual methods of repairing the works. Orders were ac- 
cordingly given to this effect, but they could not be put in 
execution, as the few Indians, who remained, would not un- 
dertake such dangerous work, and the Spaniards could not 
support the fatigue. 

" On the morning of the 4th, the enemy began to throw 
carcasses into the fort ; they set fire to some buildings, 
and the soldiers and inhabitants of Manila were in the 
greatest consternation. At one o'clock in the afternoon of 
this day, the English troops presented themselves before 
the lines, showing a very extensive front. The grenadiers 
were somewhat advanced and in position to make the 
assault. The town was thrown into complete confusion, 
and many inhabitants, with the clergy, seeing that no capitu- 
lation was in agitation, determined to quit the city, which 
they could easily do, as the guard of the Parian gate was 
composed of the townspeople of Manila. The English 
maintained their threatening position for some time, and 
retiring without making any further attempt, the inhabitants 
resumed their tranquillity, and thought no more of capitu- 
lation. On the night of the 4th, the fire of the enemy's 



556 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

artillery was resumed with terrible effect and continued 
until two o'clock in the morning- when it ceased. From 
the commencement of the siege they had thrown more 
than twenty thousand balls, five thousand shells, and twenty- 
five carcasses. In the city they ruined a great many build- 
ings, and set it on fire in five different places. We cannot 
account for this otherwise than that the English, to give 
more splendor and value to their conquest, resolved on 
such an enormous expenditure of powder and ball, for 
much less would have sufficed to take a place which was 
only in a state to defend itself against Asiatic nations, and 
not against Europeans. 

" General Draper advanced through the Calle Real as far 
as the palace, with considerable risk, for in Fort Santiago 
there was a field piece which commanded the whole street, 
and being loaded with canister shot might have swept down 
immense numbers ; but the Archbishop, who had retired to 
this fort with the Oidors, would not allow them to fire it, 
apprehending that the English would afterwards revenge 
themselves on the inhabitants of Manila. Colonel Monson, 
despatched by Draper, presented himself at the fort, inti- 
mating, on the part of his general, that the surrender of the 
place was expected. The Archbishop presented him a 
paper containing the terms of capitulation which he pro- 
posed, and requested him to be the bearer of them to his 
commanding officer for his approbation. The Colonel 
declined so doing, having no orders to that effect, and 
threatened that hostilities should proceed if he did not 
immediately surrender. The Archbishop, seeing no other 
remedy, and taking the word of honor of the Colonel for 
his personal safety, resolved to leave the fort, accom- 
panied by the colonel of the Spanish troops, to present 
himself to the English general, who was by this time in the 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 557 

palace. On his arrival there, he was about to kneel, but 
General Draper would not permit him. He then delivered 
himself up as a prisoner, and presented the paper, which 
contained the terms of capitulation, and which chiefly con- 
sisted in the free exercise of our religion, the security of 
private property, a free trade to all the inhabitants of the 
islands, and the continuation of the powers of the Royal 
Audience to keep order among the ill-disposed. 

" The English general retired to consult on these points, 
and very shortly returned with an answer accordingly, to all 
of them, with certain restrictions and additions, which were 
suggested on the part of his Britannic Majesty, and the 
capitulation, thus arranged, was signed by General Draper 
and his Excellency, the Archbishop. The colonel took it 
to the fort in order to have it countersigned by the Oidors, 
which, being done, they immediately delivered up the fort 
to the English, and retired to the palace to pay their re- 
spects to the conqueror. 

"The principal feature in the capitulation was the sur- 
render of the whole of these islands to the English, an arti- 
cle in it which the Archbishop and Oidors were compelled, 
by circumstances, to accede to, though reluctandy ; but this 
was not so easily accomplished, as Senor Anda was charged 
with the defense of them, and he was not disposed to 
submit without an appeal to arms. General Draper, 
being informed of this, thought himself justified in avail- 
ing himself of stratagem. He issued a proclamation 
in which he commiserated the fate of the Indians on 
account of the tribute which they paid to the Spaniards, 
giving the assurance that the king of Great Britain 
would not exact it of them, and thus endeavoring to ex- 
cite them to open rebellion. He then persuaded the 
Archbishop that he was the proper governor, and as such 



558 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

got him to despatch an escort, to induce the Spanish fami- 
Hes, who had taken refuge in the provinces, to return to 
Manila, and to appoint an EngHshman as Corregidor of 
Tondo, who had been some time married and established 
in Manila. General Draper treated the religious orders 
with much respect, and granted permission to the monks 
to return to their convents, in order to draw over to his in- 
terest this body, which, from what the Franciscans had 
done, he judged must have great influence in the interior 
of the country. He ordered the Archbishop to assemble a 
congress of the principal people of the city, and to propose 
to them the cession of all these islands to his Britannic 
Majesty, but Senor Viana, the royal fiscal, opposed it most 
strenuously. The day following, however, in consequence 
of threats held out by the English, the Spaniards had the 
weakness to sign this cession. Monsieur Faller, who had 
been suspected of treason, conducted himself more honor- 
ably, as he would, on no account, accept the government of 
Zamboanga, where the English commander wished to send 
him with a sufficiency of troops to take possession, in case 
they were unwilling to receive him, and a similar conduct 
was observed by a poor, but honorable Spaniard, named 
Don Louis Sandobal. 

" On the day before the capture of Manila, Senor Anda 
quitted the city, with the title of visitor and lieutenant-gov- 
ernor, in order to maintain the islands in obedience to the 
King of Spain. He arrived at Bulacan with forty orders 
under the royal seal, w^hich were the only supply of arms 
and money with which he was furnished, as the treasure 
had been sent to Lake Bay. As soon as it was known in 
Bulacan that the English were in possession of Manila, he 
summoned a meeting at which were present Father Her- 
nandez, who filled the office of provincial of St. Augustins, 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 561 

the chief magistrates of the province, and other Spaniards 
and Augustine friars, and laying before them the resolu- 
tions of the royal audience and the authority with which he 
was furnished by the governor to defend the islands, he at 
the same time adverted to the insufficiency of their force 
to make resistance to the English. They highly praised 
the measures of the royal audience, and the governor of 
Manila, and promised to spill the last drop of their blood 
rather than forsake him. The monks offered to raise troops 
in the towns for the service and conduct them to the field. 
He gave them thanks for their loyalty, and thinking that 
the tide of visitor appeared of too litde importance for the 
undertaking he was upon, he declared himself under the 
necessity of having recourse to certain old-established regu- 
lations, which ordain that the royal audience may be pre- 
served in the person of one Oidor, and in case of a vacancy 
in the goverment seat, that the royal audience may take 
the government and the oldest Oidor, command the military, 
unless any other arrangement should be made by his Ma- 
jesty. And on this occasion, the Oidors and Governor, being 
prisoners of war and dead in the eyes of the law, all these 
offices fell of necessity on him. He, accordingly, got him- 
self acknowledged as governor of the islands, in which 
capacity, joined to the office of royal audience, he circulated 
his orders to the different alcaldes and ecclesiastical super- 
intendents of missions ; no one, in the smallest degree, 
questioning his authority. 

"The English, perceiving that decrees were of very little 
service, and that it was necessary to have recourse to force, 
determined to take possession of a position on the Pasig 
in order to open a passage for provisions from the Lake 
Bay, and Thomas Backhouse, whom the Spaniards called 
Becus, for that purpose, filed off with five hundred men to 
32 



562 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

the left of the river. He arrived in front of Maybonga, 
where the famous Bustos was stationed with his Cagayans, 
ready to defend the passage of the river. He fired upon 
the first EngHsh party that advanced, but as soon as they 
returned it he retired to Maraquina with his people. The 
enemy passed the river without hesitation, and sent an 
officer with a white flag to summon the Indians to surren- 
der. The boasting little Governor answered that the Pasig 
was not Manila, and if the Spaniards had given that up to 
them in a treacherous manner, he would defend his post to 
the last ; adding, that should the officer return with the white 
flag (a trick he might deceive children with), he would hang 
him on the first tree. This reply being reported to Back- 
house, he immediately ordered the troops to march, and 
the two field-pieces he had with him beginning to play, the 
Indians became alarmed to such a degree that they fled 
precipitately. Such, indeed, was their hurry and confusion 
at the bridge near the convent, that numbers of them were 
drowned. 

" The English got possession of the convent without re- 
sistance, and pursued the Indians as if they had been a 
flock of goats as far as the river Bamban, which they swam 
over, at least all who had the good fortune to escape the 
enemy's bullets. The King of Jolo, attempting to defend 
a place occupied by his family, was obliged to surrender. 
The English fortified the post, and maintained it themselves 
until peace was declared between England and Spain." 

The Sulu Archipelago, which, in recent years, was de- 
clared officially as a part of the Philippine Group, was, prior 
to 1877, claimed by both England and Germany, and by a 
treaty signed in 1877, between England, Germany, and 
Spain, the two claimants, in consideration of the acknowledg- 
ment of Spain's sovereignty over the Sulus, received certain 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 563 

and Special trading and fisheries privileges, which practi- 
cally placed them on a plain with Spain. 

The extent of theSulu Archipelago is defined in a proto- 
col signed at Madrid, March 7, 1885, t>y representatives of 
Great Britain, Germany, and Spain, as including all of the 
Islands lying between the western extremity of the Island 
of Mindanao, on the one side, and the Islands of Borneo 
and Aragua, on the other; excluding all parts of Borneo 
and the islands within a zone of three maritime leas^ues of 

o 

the coast. 

These Islands were ceded to the United States at the 
Paris Peace Conference as a part of the PhiHppine Archi- 
pelago, making the total area of the Asiatic possessions of 
the United States 115,276 square miles. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

THE REMAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. 

The Canary Islands — Area and Inhabitants — Ancient Traditions and Histories — The 
Soil and Climate — The Productions and the Beauty of the Scenery — A Retreat 
for Invalids and Paradise of Artists — Water is Precious — Love-making and Fleas 
— Fernando Po, a Spanish Penal Colony — The Islands off the Coast of the 
French Congo — Other Islands on the West Coast of Africa and the Gold River 
Territory — The Presidios in Morocco and the Mediterranean Islands — The Isl- 
ands of the Thieves or the Ladrones and the Caroline Islands, in Micronesia — 
The Island of Guam now a Colony of the United States — And the Pelew Islands, 
where the United States may Establish a Coaling Station. 

The Canary Islands lie in the North Atlantic Ocean. The 
following are the seven principal islands : Teneriffe, Grand 
Canary, Palma, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gomera, Hierro. 
Their area in English square miles is about 2,980, and their 
population about 320,000. 

There is ground for supposing that the Phoenicians were 
not ignorant of the Canaries, The Romans, in the time of 
Augustus, received intelligence of them through Juba, king 
of Mauritania, whose account has been transmitted to us 
by the elder Pliny. He mentions " Canaria, so called from 
the multitude of dogs of great size," and " Nivaria, taking 
its name from perpetual snow, and covered with clouds,-" 
doubtless Teneriffe. Canaria was said to abound in palms 
and pine trees. Both Plutarch and Ptolemy speak of the 
Fortune Islands, but their description is so imperfect that 
it is not clear whether the Madeiras or the Canaries are 
referred to. There is no further mention of them until we 
read of their re-discovery about 1334, by a French vessel 
driven amongst them by a storm. A Spanish nobleman 
564 



THE REMAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. 565 

thereupon obtained a grant of them with the title of king, 
from Clement VI., but want of means prevented him from 
carrying out his project of conquest. Two expeditions 
subsequently set out from Spanish ports, and returned 
without having taken possession. At length three vessels, 
equipped by Jean de Bethencourt, a gentleman of Nor- 
mandy, sailed from Rochelle in 1400, and bent their course 
to the Canaries. He landed at Lanzarote and Fuerteven- 
tura, but being opposed by the natives, and finding himself 
deficient in means to effect his purpose, he repaired to the 
court of Castile, and obtained from Henry III. a grant of 
the islands, with the title of king. He sailed in 1404 with 
a strong force, which mastered Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, 
Gomera and Hierro without bloodshed. Being repulsed in 
his attempts on Palma and Canary, he returned to Europe 
in 1408 to obtain further assistance. He was well received 
at the Castilian court, where he was promised aid ; but he 
died shortly afterwards in France. Bethencourt's nephew 
had been left governor of the islands, and claimed to suc- 
ceed his uncle's' rights. Being charged with many acts of 
misgovernment, he went to Spain to clear himself, and 
whilst there sold his rights to Don Enrique de Guzman, 
who, after expending large sums in fruitless endeavors to 
reduce the unconquered islands, sold them to another 
Spaniard named Paraza. His successor, about 1441, took 
nominal possession of Canary and Teneriffe, but the natives 
effectually resisted their occupation of them. Meantime it 
appeared that Jean de Bethencourt's nephew had fraudu- 
lently made a second sale of the islands to Portugal, and 
the difference thus arising between the crowns of Spain and 
Portugal was ended by the cession of the islands to the 
former. Grand Canary, Teneriffe, and Palma remaining 
unsubdued in 1476, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain com- 



S66 THE REMAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. 

pelled Paraza's successors to sell those islands to the crown; 
and the following year one thousand men were despatched 
to reduce them. After much bloodshed, and with reinforce- 
ments from the mother country, the Spaniards, under Pedro 
de Vera, became masters of Grand Canary in 1483. Palma 
was conquered in 1491, and Teneriffe in 1495, by Alonzo 
de Lugo. All the islands still continue in the possession 
of Spain. 

Santa Cruz de Santiago, on the south coast, is the resi- 
dence of the governor-general of the Canaries, the civil 
lieutenant-governor of the Teneriffe district, and the mili- 
tary governor of the island. It is a well-built and tolerably 
clean town of 10,830 inhabitants, lying on a small plain 
bounded by bare and rugged volcanic rocks, amongst which 
lie narrow valleys called barrancas. 

The Rev. Thomas Debary, M. A., in " Notes of a Resi- 
dence in the Canary Islands," 1851, gives a pleasing com- 
bination of ancient and modern history, as follows : 

" The generic name of the ancient inhabitants of these 
islands was Guanchees. They appear to have been a par- 
ticularly hardy and high-minded race. Whence they came, 
there have been various conjectures, and a difference of 
opinion wholly, as it seems to me, uncalled for. From 
Teneriffe the island of Canary is seen very plainly ; and on 
a clear day Fuerteventura is seen from Canary; and from 
Fuerteventura the coast of Africa is visible ; it seems, 
therefore, next to impossible that these islands should not 
have been visited and peopled by the Libyans ; besides 
which, many of the customs recorded of the ancient inhabi- 
tants are similar to those found in various parts of Africa. 
In proportion as countries are little advanced in civilization, 
it is easy to trace their origin or connection with one another. 
It would not be impossible to show a sort of fellowship 



THE REMAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. 5C7 

existing between the various races and tribes of Africa, 
vast as that continent is. 

" The dry and sandy character of the soil has afforded facil- 
ities for a custom that seems to have prevailed in every part 
of Africa — namely, that of living in caves. The Africans, 
from Ethiopia to Libya, were, and still are, to some extent, 
troglodites, or livers in holes, and the ancient inhabitants of 
these islands depended almost entirely upon the rocks for 
their habitation. The custom of shaving the head is very 
prevalent throughout Africa, which, under certain circum- 
stances, the Guanchees did. The disposition to embalm or 
make mummies of the dead is another African custom ; and 
the ancient inhabitants of- these islands rolled their dead in 
goat skins. The preparation of goffo or goffu, which was 
their main support, and is still eaten by the poor people of 
the island of Teneriffe, is similar to the cuscusu eaten in 
Barbary and on the shores of the Gambia. All these argu- 
ments, for the fact, would scarcely be necessary, but that 
some have asserted the aborigines to be Americans, from 
the shape of the skull ; indeed, I have seen a statement 
that the lost tribes of Israel found their way here — thus, as 
they so often have been, being pressed into the service of 
a despairing antiquarian. 

" The sentiments of the aborigines were of an heroical 
character ; they had orders of nobility as well as kings 
amongst them, and any ill treatment of women and children 
was enough to exclude them from the rank of nobility ; they 
are said not to have been much given to navigation, so that 
it is difficult to understand how they got from one island 
to another. 

" Proceeding in our route to Orotava, for a long way, we 
passed through fields of maize, flax and lupin, which latter 
is sown here in great abundance for manure. My mind 



568 THE REMAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. 

was prepared to admire the beauties of Teneriffe ; accord- 
ingly, as we journeyed on, I allowed myself to fall into rap- 
tures at the beauty of those tints that the mountains and 
all above the peak assumed under the influence of the set- 
ting sun. Clear outlines and bright colors are not what 
an artistic eye generally delights in ; yet the artist who 
would represent tropical landscapes must be prepared for 
these. The peak, which appeared to us a minute ago en- 
tirely white, now exhibited every hue of purple, from pink 
to indigo ; and no sooner had the sun vanished than the 
stars came out with a degree of brilliancy I had never seen 
before. 

" I was quite taken aback by the prospect, as I beheld the 
peak quite clear from the extreme summit to its ocean- 
washed base. It is not, in outline, by any means a pic- 
turesque mountain. The upper part is of the ogee shape ; 
yet it is an object calculated to fill the mind with wonder 
and amazement. It certainly looks like one of the land- 
marks of the creation, and must have filled the Carthag- 
inian navigators with great surprise when they saw it, as it is 
probable they did, in all the glories of an active volcano. 

"We now entered what may be described as the palm 
district of Teneriffe. Many of the trees were very much 
disfigured, being tied up that the inner leaves might whiten 
for Palm Sunday, being then used to adorn the churches; 
but on looking up the barrancas, or deep valleys, we saw 
forests of them ; and the kind of shock, which a strange 
vegetation, when first seen, gives the mind, began to yield 
to admiration. After passing a defile where the rays of the 
sun called for umbrellas as much almost as a hailstorm in 
England, we emerged upon that, which is doubtless the 
grandest and finest feature in the island of Teneriffe — the 
Valley of Orotava. The sloping plain, which is circum- 



THE REMAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. 569 

scribed by the mountains and the sea, is Hterally Hke a bed 
in a green-house ; the soil is excellent, and produces every- 
thing ; however, for the most part the vine covers it like a 
net. In the middle of the plain stands the Villa of Orotava, 
surrounded as it is by such remarkable natural objects. 
Many of the buildings are built in a stately style, evidently 
the creation of the best days of Spanish history. Three or 
four miles from La Villa is the port, or as it is called, Port- 
Orotava ; and the country intervening is dotted with 
quintas and various kinds of detached residences. In the 
garden of one of the palaces at Orotava stands die cele- 
brated dragon tree, the largest, I believe, and oldest tree in 
the world. Five hundred years ago it was seen by the 
first invaders of the island, and was then venerated by the 
natives for its great size and antiquity ; a great part of it 
now has become a species of touch-wood, and it has pretty 
well lost its characteristic features, and must have under- 
gone some diminution since it was last figured. 

" Teneriffe is an extinct volcano, and if I may compare it 
with an active one, I should say it presented many features 
similar to those of Vesuvius. I should have judged that 
where we were sitting was once in a state of active erup- 
tion, and that then there was no peak as we now saw it ; 
but that, after this had subsided, another eruption broke 
out in the middle of the bed, and continued in a state of 
activity for many, many years, and the present mountain 
was, as it were, gradually accumulated — just as now, in the 
middle of the black crater of Vesuvius, rises a small cone, 
from the apex of which vapor and scoriae are perpetually 
being ejected, and dropping down, continually increase the 
heap of the cone. 

" The character of the scenery on this side of the peak, as 
you descend, is very different from the other. Here we 



570 THE REMAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. 

found, in a very unmistakable manner, the ravaging effects 
of some former eruption, and everything about us much 
wilder than on the side of Orotava. The descent is, in 
reality, over vast steps of black lava, such as Herculaneum 
lies buried under. The first indications of real vegetation 
we came to was a wood of fir trees. Some distance below, 
and after passing over a wild region, we entered a wood of 
what in England would be called exotics ; gigantic arbuta, 
and heath-like plants waved over our heads, having an 
appearance very different from anything I have ever seen 
before. On leaving the wood we looked down upon rich 
and cultivated fields. 

"The town of Las Palmas has a population of about 
10,000; it is built on either side of a ravine, which divides 
it, in the bottom of which flows a narrow stream, spanned 
by rather an elegant bridge, built by a former bishop of the 
place. On looking up the ravine from the bridge, you see 
many palm trees, and the whole prospect is crowned by 
the pale blue Pexos ridge of mountains, which are 6,500 feet 
high. The valley itself is exceedingly fertile, and is so well 
irrigated that it produces two crops of Indian corn in the 
year, besides a crop of potatoes. 

" Canary is the richest of the seven islands in water, an 
element only properly valued in such places as these ; 
every drop of which, come how it may, from the mountains 
or from the sky, is collected into tanks and reservoirs ; and 
where several families have a claim upon it, it is doled out 
with jealous impartiality ; it is by witnessing the immediate 
importance of water in a naturally arid country that the full 
tyranny of that Persian monarch can be appreciated, who, 
shutting up the gorges of the mountains which surrounded 
the plain where the river Acis took its rise, blessed or 
cursed the different provinces of his kingdom, as they fur- 



THE REMAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. 571 

nished him with tribute. He who should possess the keys 
of such a reservoir would be all-powerful ; for upon it 
depends everything." 

Mrs. Elizabeth Murray, in " Sixteen Years of an Artist's 
Life in Morocco, Spain, and the Canary Islands " (1859), 
gives this instructive and charming picture of the Canaries : 

"In the years 18 12 and 181 5, Port Orotava may be said 
to have been at the height of its commercial activity. The 
wines of the island were in high favor, and between the 
two years last mentioned, from eight to twelve thousand 
pipes were annually shipped from it to Great Britain and 
America, the East and West Indies, and other places. 
Orchilla weed and other articles of Island produce, were 
exported in considerable quantities. The value of the 
imports from the various countries that traded with the 
Canary Islands was also very considerable. 

"The declaration of peace in Europe, in 181 5, gave 
a severe blow to the trade of Teneriffe, from which 
it can hardly be said to have ever recovered. After that 
period the wine-trade gradually fell to a very low figure, and 
with the appearance of a fatal disease in the vines, which 
had been experienced for four successive years, the aver- 
age annual production fell from twenty-four or twenty- 
five thousand to barely a twentieth part of that quantity. 
Besides, in more recent times, Santa Cruz became a serious 
rival to Orotava ; various large mercantile establishments, 
doing a considerable amount of business, having been 
established, -one after another, in the capital. The few 
remaininor merchants in Orotava soon lost all their former 
commercial spirit, and one mercantile disaster was followed 
by another, until El Puerto sank almost to its former insig- 
nificance, and the era of its activity was brought to an end. 

" The peasantry are extremely ignorant of the most ele- 



572 



THE REMAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. 



mentary branches of knowledge, the instances in which 
they are able to read and write being very rare. If neces- 
sity were not the mother of invention, this would be rather 
awkward in their love-communings, which would, of neces- 
sity, be confined to personal interviews, which are not 
always convenient. In their ignorance, therefore of one of the 
three important R's, indeed all of them, they have invented 
a kind of flower language, by which they can express most 
eloquently every secret thought and every tender feeling, 
the utterances of these beautiful symbols being perfectly 
comprehended by the one to whom they are addressed. 
Specific feelings are ascribed to different flowers, to their 
various arrangements, to leaves, to buds and blossoms ; a 
complete alphabet and vocabulary of love being thus made 
up, which must be, at least, a more romantic method of com- 
municating- the feelinors of the heart than our direct and 
matter-of-fact way. 

** On the " ferias " and other merry meetings of a similar 
nature, of which there are very many, the lover has excel- 
lent opportunities, of which he generally takes care to 
avail himself, of presenting his ' moza ' with a sprig of 
thyme, to the Spanish name of which, ' tomillo,' a certain 
meaning is made to jingle in rhyme in the established 
phrase, 'a tus pies me humillo,' the simple interpretation 
of which is, * I humble myself at your feet.' If a piece of 
rosemary, called by the people ' romero,' is returned, it is 
taken as an unfavorable answer to the poor lover's suit, 
for 'romero,' rhyming with ' mojadero,' means in plain 
language, 'You are a bore, sir.' But if a flower with a 
more compassionate meaning is returned, the suit is con- 
sidered to have made a good commencement, and the 
gratified lover seeks such opportunities as he can find of 
holdincr liaht chat with the fair one at her window as he 

o o 



THE REMAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. 573 

passes to and fro from his daily labor. The conversation, 
it must be confessed, is not quite of such a nature as one 
would imagine likely to be indulged in by the victims of the 
tender passion. If one were to listen to a dialogue between 
two young persons in such a Romeo and Juliet-like position, 
he would* be astonished to hear that the deepest sighs of 
an ardent passion were breathed forth as the accompani- 
ment to questions about the price of potatoes, the appear- 
ance of the crops, the labor of the farm, the work of the 
household, and indeed, anything but the great, the all im- 
portant subject that brings them together. That, in fact, 
which is nearest their hearts is never once alluded to. It 
must not be supposed, however, that this domestic and 
agricultural conversation serves no good purpose. By such 
interviews, repeated as often as possible, the love-smitten 
Lothario is enabled to form a very adequate judgment of 
the domestic capacities of the lady, and of her fitness to be 
a useful helpmate to him in the daily business of life, for 
they know there is little or no honeymoon of listless indo- 
lence for them. Having satisfied himself as to her qualifi- 
cations, and, after all the reflection that so important a step 
demands, having made up his own mind, he goes, one 
evening, to their accustomed interview with a green sprig 
or flower, which, during the conversation, he fixes in some 
chink of the window, in full view of his inamorata, to whom 
it conveys an important question. This operation is much 
facilitated by the circumstance that all the houses of the 
peasantry consist only of a ground floor. The lady is 
allowed time for consideration and takes the night to con- 
sider what reply she shall make to the proposal. 

" The next morning, the anxious lover, who has doubdess 
passed a sleepless night, at least we may imagine so, pro- 
ceeds to learn his fate, eagerly fixing his eye upon the 



574 'J^HE REMAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. 

window as he approaches. If the symbol of his affection 
has been taken in, great is his joy, for he knows that he is 
an accepted lover, and that matters may now proceed en 
7^egle to their legitimate issue. If, on the contrary, the 
symbol of his affection has been disregarded, and allowed 
to wither on the outside, it is understood as an unequivocal 
announcement that his suit is not acceptable, and that he 
may carry his love to some other market. If the lady jilts 
her suitor, she is said, in a style of similar imagery, " to 
have given him pumpkins," Da le calabazas, a phrase not 
uncommon even among the higher and more educated 
classes. 

"The fleas of Laguna are said to be so famous for their 
size, strength and activity, that they are regarded with uni- 
versal interest, and incidents relating to them are introduced 
even into the love-songs of the country, accompanied, in 
lieu of castanets, with expressive snappings of the fingers. 
Such a verse, for instance, as the following, is popular 
among the lower classes, and is intended to give a' zest to 
the monotony of love-making : 

" Last night I passed your window. 
And saw you catching fleas, 
Surely, you might have said to me, 

'Come and catch some, if you please.' '* 

" But our poor matter-of-fact ' Uncle Sam ' will have none 
of those literary associations to comfort him should he take 
it upon himself to act as guardian to this group of beautiful 
islands. 

" The laboring classes of the population enjoy but a limited 
variety of amusements. Of athletic sports the men prac- 
tice none but those of pitching the crowbar and wrestling, 
exercises for which they are very famous. Although their 
manner of conducting these sports might surprise and 



THE REMAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. 575 

puzzle a Cornishman, he would probably find diem tough 
customers to deal with. There is great rivalry, in these 
trials of strength and skill, between the several islands, as 
well as between the several districts, and a festival rarely 
takes place without a good-natured contest between the 
different parties." 

" Cock-fighting is another amusement in which the inhab- 
itants of the Canary Islands are fond of indulging, and in 
which large sums of money are frequently won and lost. 
To gambling of all kinds they are passionately addicted. 
Wherever half a score of them are congregated, a greasy 
pack of cards is sure to be produced by some one of the 
company, and the game of monte, which is the most popu- 
lar here, is played by all with the greatest animation. 

" All the amusements of the people are carried on in the 
most orderly, decorous, and cordial spirit, without quarrels 
or disturbance. This favorable feature in their character 
is, no doubt, owing chiefly to their abstemious and sober 
habits, for it is a most unusual thing to witness a single 
•instance of intoxication among them. They have one pecu- 
liar custom, however, to which women, as well as men, are 
addicted, but it never leads to the slightest extra-indulgence 
in the pernicious habit of dram-drinking. Every one takes 
a small glass of the country brandy the first thing in the 
morning, ' para espantar el diabolo,' to frighten away the 
devil, alleging, as an excuse for this moderate indulgence, 
the bad effects which the morning cold and the rarefied 
mountain air at or before daydawn would produce on their 
stomachs unfortified by such a preservative. Their toil 
generally commences at this early period of the day, and 
for the remainder of the twenty-four hours they rarely touch 
anything else but water. Every country, however, has its 
peculiar vices; and if, in this almost tropical climate, intoxi- 



576 THE REMAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. 

cation is not one of them, there is a laxity in their morals 
and a carelessness in their conduct, that will bear anything 
but a favorable comparison even with those other fair lands 
that are most famed for vices of this kind. 

" The African custom of embalming the dead was uni- 
versally practiced among the Guanchees. A tribe of priests 
was maintained for the sacred office of cleansing the body. 
After repeated washings with salt and water, which was 
also the habits of the Egyptians, they anointed it with aro- 
matic herbs and butter made from goats' milk. The body 
was opened with sharp stones made of opsidian, called 
* tabonas,' analogous to the Ethiopian stone employed to 
open bodies at the side — an incision which has also been 
remarked in tne sides of some Guanchee mummies. They 
were then left to dry in the sun, and afterwards rubbed 
with herbs, powder of wood, pumice-stone and other ab- 
sorbent substances. This preparation lasted a fortnight, 
which time the relations of the deceased celebrated with 
great pomp, singing the praises of the defunct, and giving 
themselves up to grief. When the body was very dry, and 
as light as charcoal, it was wrapped in several goatskins, 
either tanned or raw, and impressed with a distinguishing 
mark. The kings and principal dignitaries were enveloped 
in finer skins, and, being put into a ' Sabino,' or coffin of 
pine-wood, were carried to the most inaccessible caverns, 
where they were placed vertically against the walls, or in 
great order upon shelves. 

" Some of the native Grand Canarian laws and customs 
were barbarous in the extreme. Though the island con- 
tained so disproportionately large a population as fourteen 
thousand souls, it was very imperfectly cultivated, and its 
productions not sufficient for the wants of its numerous 
population. As the number of births, notwithstanding, 



THE REMAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. t^i^ 

greatly exceeded that of deaths, the inhabitants were kept 
in a constant dread of famine through the failure of any 
of their crops. They had no means of supplying their 
wants from any other source, for their knowledge of 
any kind of navigation was so small that not even the 
rudest kind of canoe or raft was ever known in any of the 
islands. It was this dread of famine that led them to estab- 
lish the inhuman law that all but the first-born child of 
every woman should be destroyed at the moment of its 
birth. The feelings of natural affection, however, ere long 
triumphed over so barbarous an enactment, and it was 
abolished before the time of the Spanish conquest. 

" Their women, as in Teneriffe, enjoyed the legal privilege 
of having three husbands, each of whom acted in his turn as 
lord and master for one month, the other two being in the 
condition of servants during that time. Many, however, 
preferred to have only one partner through life, in which 
case the bride, as in Morocco, was required to remain as 
quiet as possible in a cavern, in a reclining posture, for a 
period of thirty days, eating abundantly of gofio. At the 
expiration of that period she was expected to have attained 
the degree of eiJibonpoint that fitted her for the marriage 
state. The marriage could not take place until the lady 
was declared to be in a fit condition by the Faycan, or High 
Priest, or by the temporal chief, one of which individuals 
not only gave away the bride, but likewise claimed the 
same sort of tribute that was once exacted in many of the 
French and other continental seigrtetirages. 

"The Canarians were remarkable for their good govern- 
ment, and for their strict administration of justice. When 
a man committed a crime which they deemed worthy of 
death, he was at once apprehended and committed to pri- 
son. He was then tried, and, if found guilty, led to the 
33 



58o THE REMAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. 

place of execution, which was also the scene of their feasts, 
wrestling-matches, and duels. The delinquent being 
stretched on the ground, and his head placed on a large 
stone, the executioner, who was a man set apart for the 
office, taking up another heavy stone, and lifting it as high 
as he could, suddenly let it fall upon the culprit's head. 
For crimes that were not considered worthy of death, they 
proceeded on the principle of Lex Talionis — an eye for an 
eye and a tooth for a tooth. 

" The people of Canary had several public festivals, as, 
for example, at the period of gathering in their crops of 
barley, which may be considered their harvest home. Most 
public events, such as the accession of a new local chief, 
were celebrated with great rejoicing. During the periods 
of their festivals, all internal wars were suspended, the 
belligerents on both sides fraternizing as long as the cere- 
monies lasted, and at the termination renewing the fight 
with even greater ardor than before." 

OTHER ISLANDS, COLONIES, AND PRESIDIOS. 

Fernando Po is an Island on the western coast of Africa, 
twenty miles from the German Colony of Kamerun. It is 
of volcanic origin, thirty-five miles long and twenty-two 
miles wide. On it is a ridg-e of mountains terminating- in 
Clarence Peak, 10,190 feet high. The whole appearance 
of this beautiful Island is picturesque in the extreme, being 
covered, to its hiofhest elevations, with dense forests and 
luxuriant vegetation, consisting chiefly of palms and mag- 
nificent bambax. 

The Island was discovered, in 1471, by the Portuguese, 
who, in 1778, ceded it to Spain. It is now a Spanish penal 
colony; a place of exile for political offenders. 

Aunobon, Coriso, and the Elobey Islands are off the 



THE REMAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. 581 

coast of the French Congo. The latter group of Islands 
is claimed by Spain, but the native chiefs have acknowledged 
French sovereignty. In 1891, Spain relinquished her 
claim to Coriso Bay, but retained Cape San Juan, and the 
rio;ht of naviofation over the rivers Benito and Muni. 

The country on the banks of the rivers Muni and Campo 
is claimed by Spain, but disputed by France. It has an 
area of 69,000 square miles and a population of over 
500,000. 

On the western coast of Africa, Spain claims a protector- 
ate over territory covering 150,000 square miles, known as 
Rio de Oro, meaning " Gold River." Rio de Oro and the 
oasis Adrar are under the governorship of the Canary 
Islands, with a sub-governor resident at Rio de Oro. 

In Morocco, Spain has several presidios or garrison set- 
tlements, including Ifni, near Cape Non, covering an area 
of twenty-seven square miles, with a population of 6,000; 
Ceuta, opposite Gibraltar, covering an area of thirty square 
miles, with a population of 13,000. 

Gomera, Penon de Velez, Malilla, Alhucemas Island, 
Alboran Island, and the Chafarinas Islands off the coast of 
Morocco are all under Spanish rule. 

The Caroline Islands, another large group in the Pacific 
Ocean, contains hundreds of small Islands. The whole 
archipelago is known, on account of the smallness of the 
Islands, as Micronesia. They are divided into forty-eight 
recognized groups, principal of which are the Pelew Isl- 
ands. These Islands cover an area of 560 square miles 
and have 36,000 inhabitants. 

The United States will establish a naval station in the 
Carolines. 

The Balearic Islands, a group in the Mediterranean off 



582 THE RE3IAINING SPANISH POSSESSIONS. 

the west coast of Spain, have a total area of i,86o 
square miles and a population of 312,593. 

They form an administrative province of Spain. The 
climate of these Islands is delightful, and to an extent they 
are considered a health resort. They are also very fertile 
and produce an abundance of tropical fruits and sweet 
wines. 

In Oceania Spain still retains the Ladrones, or Las Mari- 
anas, a group of twenty islands, of which only five are in- 
habited. 

The United States has, however, taken possession of the 
Island of Guam, the southernmost and largest Island of this 
group. 

These Islands are of volcanic origin, densely wooded, 
and very fertile. They were discovered by Magellan in 
1 521, and called Las Islas de Los La Di'ones; that is, "The 
Islands of the Thieves," from the thievish disposition of the 
natives. I 

They cover an area of 420 square miles and have a pop- 
ulation of over 10,000. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC. 

Two Great Enterprises to be Undertaken, the Completion of the Nicaragua Canal and 
the Laying of a Cable to Honolulu, the Ladrones, and Manila — We Must Be in 
Touch with Our New Possessions and Have a Direct Route for our Ships of 
War from Havana and the Mouth of the Mississippi to Hawaii and the Philip- 
pines — Commerce will Follow the Flag — The Suez Canal as an Illustration. 

The Pacific Ocean is not to remain much longer, in the 
language of Senator Thomas Ewing, " a solitude of waters." 
It is the last ocean in the zones that are spheres of civiliza- 
tion to be utilized for the benefit of mankind, and have 
taken from it the lonesomeness that seems like a haunting 
shadow in the clouds and on the waves. On the slopes of 
its tremendous curves even the birds and the fish are dis- 
couraged, and seek with wing and fin the remote shadows ; 
and, for a thousand leagues in the midst of the majestic 
waste, there is not to be seen so much as the white speck 
of a sail or the penciling, on the golden blue of the arch of 
air, of a steamer's smoke. 

Africa is the latest of the continents to yield its mysteries 
to explorers, and the nations of Europe are contending for 
the spoil of nature, making provisions for the generations 
who will crowd the hereafter and find, in all the soil that is 
fertile, the forests that are the reserves of riches, and the 
rivers and lakes stocked with food fishes for man's subsist- 
ence. We, of America, have only just now put forth our 
hands to grasp the most beautifully and bountifully en- 
dowed islands that have fallen to us like ripe fruit in an 
autumnal orchard. We are the only mighty nation, with 

583 



584 THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC. 

the exception of Russia, with a broad front on the Pacific. 
The Russian possessions in that quarter are fettered with 
frosts, while we have the cHmate of England in the State of 
Washington, that of France in Oregon, and that of Italy in 
California. The English, it is true, have a choice bit of the 
western American coast, but it is not comparable with the 
three American States that confront Asia, across the Greater 
Ocean, with a post two thousand miles out at Hawaii in 
the tropics ; not considering the huge corner of the con- 
tinent that was the ofift of Russia for the nominal sum of 
;^7, 200,000, and the Aleutian Islands that extend to within 
easy reach and striking distance of Japan. Irrespective of 
the Philippines, we have Pacific possessions surpassing in 
scope and value those of any other nation, while the posi- 
tions we hold are fortunate and commandingr. The East 
and the West Indies are coming our way. Porto Rico, 
one of the most charming of the gems of the sea, is ours 
wholly and indisputably. Cuba will, of necessity, belong to 
us, for the Cuban Republic is a phantom of fever, and will 
vanish as the ghosts do when spoken to. Already we see 
the tendency of other islands to drift to us. There will be 
no West India League unless of our territories, and the 
people will have to accept our protection, which meanr the 
sovereignty of the Republic. The Gulf of Mexico is the 
American Mediterranean. Into it flows the Mississippi, 
draining half our States. Away off, two thousand miles 
and more west of the continent, on a line with the city of 
Mexico, is Hawaii, ours to have and hold, to cherish and 
keep forever ; and a thousand leagues farther west and 
south we find the Philippines, an archipelago a thousand 
miles from north to south, and three hundred miles in 
breadth — two thousand islands, countino- the rocks that are 
rinored with surf — one thousand inhabited — and there are 



THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC. 585 

floating into our harbor the islands that are fugitives from 
tyranny. There is fascination for the people of them, in 
the flag, that exceeds the potentiality of our fleets and 
armies. The flag attracting, the power of arms assuring 
the defense of friends and the punishment of foes. 

We all remember how long we waited with anxiety, but 
pride and confidence, the coming of the speedy battleship 
Oregon around South America; how we anticipated that 
she, by herself, would have to destroy Cervera's fleet ; and 
how, at the call of Admiral Dewey, who wanted two more 
battleships, the Oregon and the Iowa were sent from New 
York to Manila. It is within the immediate experience of 
the country that our people, at Honolulu, get their news 
from the world only by weekly installments, and that it takes 
a month for the soldiers of the American army, at Manila, 
to get new^s from home. Consequently we must undertake 
two colossal enterprises to make a conquest of the Pacific. 

They are: a cable at once from San Francisco to Hono- 
lulu, to be soon extended, by way of the Ladrones, to Luzon 
and Manila, and the construction of the much-needed Nica- 
ragua Ship Canal ; a channel to connect the Mediterranean 
of America with the Pacific ; and if the English want to 
take part in it and help with capital, according to treaty 
provisions, there is no objection so long as we hold the 
controlling interest. 

Some idea of the surrounding country will be of interest 
and we therefore give from "The Nicaragua Canal and 
The Monroe Doctrine" a succinct statement of the Nica- 
ragua Canal route and a most intelligible account of the 
country contiguous to the Canal. 

The plateau formation of central Honduras is continued 
along the left bank of the Goascoran, and around the 
southerly shores of the Gulf of Fonseca, in the lower plains 



586 THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC. 

of Conejo and Leon. It is from amid these latter table- 
lands that the main range of the Cordillera now bifurcates, 
originates ; one branch continuing along the Pacific coast to 
unite in the south with the higher volcanic peaks of Costa 
Rica, the other cutting Nicaragua in a southerly direction 
and terminating, finally, on the Caribbean coast just north 
of the outlet of the Rio San Juan. From this latter branch 
again great wooded spurs stretch out toward the eastern 
sea-coast, leaving between them but narrow defiles, through 
which countless streams flow down to mingle in the laoroons 
of the Mosquito coast. Ensconced, as it were, between 
these two great branches of the Cordillera lies a truly re- 
markable depression, about seventy miles wide, which 
slopes off gradually from the plains of Conejo and Leon, in 
the extreme northwest, to the level of the sea alongr the 
lower valley of the San Juan. Through this depression 
runs a series of isolated volcanic peaks, while in its centre, 
and for the most part filling it up, lie the two great inland 
seas of the district. Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua, 
which are united by a narrow channel. In this depression, 
the bottom of which is below the sea-level, are gathered the 
waters which flow from the mountains and plains on either 
hand, the surplus of which is discharged by a single outlet, 
the San Juan River, which traverses a valley between low 
and densely wooded hills, flows through the break in the 
Cordillera, and then through the lowlands of the coast into 
the Atlantic Ocean. Thus a natural water-course extends 
through Nicaragua, in a northwesterly direction, from the 
Adantic on the one side to within a few miles of the Pacific 
on the other ; but here again the Cordillera interpose their 
persistent barrier between the seas. Lake Managua is cut 
off from the Gulf of Fonseca by the elevated plains of Leon 
and Conejo ; while along the narrow strip of land, separating 



THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC. 587 

Lake Nicaragua from the Pacific, there extends the western 
branch of these mountains, commonly designated as the 
Coast Ranore. 

o 

Inasmuch as the elevation of the northwestern plateaux 
is comparatively slight, and as the ridge of the low Coast 
Range is indented here and there with easy passes, numer- 
ous opportunities are here afforded by extending this natu- 
ral water-way of Nicaragua, to the Pacific, by the excavation 
of a canal through the remaining strip of land. From the 
northwestern shores of Lake Managua, for example, a 
canal might be cut through the plain of Conejo and thence 
downward along the valley of the Estero Real to the Gulf 
of Fonseca. Or, to take a shorter course, an excavation 
could be made from Lake Managua direcdy across the 
plain Leon, to emerge upon the Pacific shore, either alono- 
the valley of the tiny rivulet Tamarinda, or else farther 
north in the harbor of Corinto. Or, again, having located 
the depressions in the Coast Range, and having selected those 
from among them whose concomitant hydrographic features 
seem favorable, other canal lines could be drawn through 
these points from the western shores of Lake Nicaragua to 
the Pacific. Of the several routes that might be laid out, 
according to this last method, the three following are those 
most worthy of consideration : (i) Up the Rio Lajas, across 
the lowest divide of the oreat Cordillera Ranee and thence 
down the Rio Grande to Brito on the Pacific. (2) Leaving 
the lake level at Virgin Bay, across the next lowest depres- 
sion to the south, to reach the Pacific by the very shortest 
line of all, at San Juan del Sur. (3) Up the valley of the 
Rio Sapoa and across the more elevated divide at this 
point, to descend again to the Pacific at the Bay of Salinas. 
Such are the varied possibilities of what, in general, may be 
called the Nicaragua Routes. 



588 THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC. 

Lake Nicaragua, known also as the Lake of Granada, is 
the largest body of fresh water between Lake Michigan in 
North America and Lake Titicaca in Peru, and on its sur- 
face could be floated the combined navies of the whole 
world. It is no miles in length and 40 miles in width. 
According to recent soundings it has a depth, at some 
points, of 240 feet. In most parts its margins are shoal, but 
occasionally there is deep water close along shore. Its 
outlet, the river San Juan, draining a watershed of some 
8,000 square miles, which has an average annual rainfall of 
at least 80 inches, is a stream of large volume, and in its 
upper reaches without flats or shoals. It is 121 miles lon^^ 
and from 100 to 400 yards broad, and in the upper half of 
its course has a depth of from ten to twenty feet, but is 
interrupted by several rapids which interfere with its navi- 
gation. These rapids are traversed at all times by the 
canoes or " bungos " of the natives, and, during the rainy 
season, all except the Castillo Rapids, are passed by steam- 
ers of light draught with engines of moderate power. A 
glance at any general map will suffice to show why such 
vast importance has been attached to it, in the past, by such 
men as David, Nelson, Humboldt, and Napoleon III, and 
by the leading American statesmen and naval authorities 
of the present day. In view of the importance of the sub- 
ject, the opinions of some of these, comprising a range of 
distinguished men, of various nationalities and of widely 
different types of character and training, are passed in re- 
view. 

After his expedition of 1665, which revealed the value of 
the lake route to the British, David, who for a buccaneer 
was a singularly far-sighted man, is reported to have said 
that "he valued the treasure captured in Granada no mor"6 
than a barrel of wine, in comparison to the knowledge he 



THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC. 5 89 

had obtained of the lakes and the country between the two 
oceans," and he intended to return and occupy the island 
of Ometepe, in Lake Nicaragua, "to open the communica- 
tion between the northern and southern seas, and control 
it therefrom." 

More than a hundred years later, in 1780, Calling- at- 
tempted to carry out this project, to obtain mastery of the 
lakes and the river San Juan, and thus to control the chief 
line of communication between the two oceans. " Here a 
canal between them could be most easily formed," he 
thought, and " this work would be more important in its 
consequences," he was firmly persuaded, " than any which 
had ever yet been effected by human powers." And Nel- 
son realized its importance when, in helping to put into ex- 
ecution Calling's plan in the above year, he conveyed a 
force of 2,000 men to San Juan de Nicaragua, to effect a 
conquest of the country. " In order," he wrote to the 
Admiralty, "to give facility to the great object of Govern- 
ment, I Intend to possess the great lake of Nicaragua, 
which I regard as the inland Gibraltar of Spanish Am- 
erica." 

The life-long interest of Humboldt, in the question of 
inter-oceanic communication, finds ample mention elsewhere. 
One fact, however, deserves to be emphasized. On ac- 
count of the insufficiency of data — on which fact he so fre- 
quently comments — throughout his whole life he prudently 
preserved an open mind as to the choice of any particular 
route, though he had a preference for Cupica and Nicara- 
gua. 

" It appears somewhat probable," he says in his " Per- 
sonal Narrative of Travels," " that the province of Nic- 
aragua will be fixed upon for the great work of the junc- 
tion of the two oceans," and thirty years later, shortly 



590 THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC. 

before his death : " Ma predilection pour Cupica ne m'a pas 
rendu indifferent aux avantages que fournit la belle contree 
du Nicaragua." 

Deeply interested and largely influenced by the opinions 
of Humboldt, the great Goethe saw clearly the immense 
advantages to be gained by the command of such an inter- 
oceanic water-way. " But I should wonder if the United 
States were to let such an opportunity escape of getting 
such a work into their own hands," he said, and, after 
vividly foretelling the marvelous growth of the Pacific 
States, and indicating the intercourse likely to spring up be- 
tween the Far East and the United States : " in such a case 
it would not only be desirable, but almost necessary, that a 
more rapid communication should be maintained between 
the eastern and western shores of North America, both 
by merchant ships and men-of-war, than has hitherto been 
possible with the tedious, disagreeable, and expensive voy- 
age round Cape Horn. I therefore repeat that it is abso- 
lutely indispensable for the United States to effect a passage 
from the Mexican Gulf to the Pacific Ocean, and I am cer- 
tain that they will do it." 

In February, 1825, Senor Don Antonio Jose Canaz, Min- 
ister of the United States from the new republic of Central 
America, which consisted of the states of Guatemala, Hon- 
duras, Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, then recently 
liberated from the rule of Spain, addressed a note to the 
Secretary of State calling the attention of the United States 
Government to the subject of uniting the Atlantic and Pa- 
cific Oceans by a canal through the republic of which he 
was the representative, and inviting participation in the 
enterprise. 

Even at that early time the superiority of the route by 
Lake Nicaragua was acknowledged, as will be seen by the 



THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC. 591 

following extract from Mr. Clay's reply, dated April 18, 
1825: 

"The idea has been conceived of uniting- the two oceans 
by a canal navigation. The execution of it will form a 
great epoch in the commercial affairs of the whole world. 
The practicability of it can scarcely be doubted. Various 
lines for the proposed canal have been suggested, and have 
divided public opinion. The evidence, tending to show the 
superiority of the advantage of that which would traverse 
the province of Nicaragua, seems to have entirely setded 
the question in favor of that route." 

On the loth of February, 1826, Mr. Clay, in compliance 
with a promise given Senor Canaz, instructed Mr. William- 
son, then Charge d 'Affaires in Central America, to make 
an investigation. He thus writes : "It will at once occur 
to you to ascertain if surveys have been made of the pro- 
posed route of the canal, and if entire confidence may be 
placed in their accuracy. What is its length, what the na- 
ture of the country, and of the ground through which it is 
to pass? Can the supply of water for feeders be drawn 
from Lake Nicaragua, or other adequate sources ? In 
short, what facilities do the country and the state of its 
population afford for making the canal, and what are the 
estimates of its cost ? It is not intended that you should 
inspire the Government of the Republic of Guatemala with 
any confident expectation that the United States «vill con- 
tribute, by pecuniary or other means, to the execution of 
the work, because it is not yet known what views Congress 
might take of it. What the President desires is to be put 
into possession of such full informaton as will serve to 
guide the judgment of the constituted authorities of the 
United States in determining, in regard to it, what belongs 
to their interests and duties." 



592 THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC. 

On the 1 6th of June, 1826, a contract was entered into 
between the Central American Government and Mr. A. H. 
Palmer, of New York, for the construction of a canal 
through Nicaragua with a capacity " for vessels of the 
largest burden possible." With Mr. Palmer was associated 
the Hon. De Witt Clinton, the builder of the Erie Canal and 
at that time Governor of the State of New York ; the Hon. 
Stephen Van Rensselaer, of New York ; Monroe Robinson, 
Esq., President of the Bank of the United States ; the Hon. 
Edward Forsyth, of Louisiana ; C. J. Catlett, Esq., District 
of Columbia, and others. Their surveys and estimates 
were evidently very inadequate, for they proposed to do 
the work with a capital of only ^5,000,000. Their scheme 
failed because of their inability to raise the amount pro- 
posed, but the merits of the project were so evident that 
the King of the Netherlands, on his individual account, and 
as patron of an association of capitalists, took up the matter, 
and sent his envoy. General Ver Veer, to Nicaragua, in 
March, 1829, with full power to treat with the Central 
American Government. When he arrived political affairs 
were in a disturbed state, and nothing was accomplished 
until the Congress of Central America was convened in 
1830, when a decree was issued authorizing the construc- 
tion of the canal, and with full provisions for all financial 
and political relations, this with a view to offering the con- 
cession to the association already organized in the Nether- 
lands. The neorotiations with the Kinof of the Netherlands 
were, however, fruitless of results, because of the political 
disturbance in his own country, which resulted in the sepa- 
ration and subsequent independence of the kingdom of 
Belgium. 

That the public eye turns with unprecedented interest to 
the Nicaragua Canal enterprise, feeling that its construe- 



THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC. 593 

tion has become one of the duties of destiny, is seen in the 
fact that it is one of the leading themes of discussion in the 
magazines that, in the most potent and dignified way, handle 
the great questions in the world's progress. 

Mr. Emory R. Johnson contributed to the " Review of 
Reviews," November, '98, a paper on "The Nicaragua 
Canal and Our Commercial Interests," that commands 
attention, for it is full of information, given forcible applica- 
tion. He says the canal would help us to increase existincr 
traffic by widening the area, and create new business by giv- 
ing a shorter and cheaper transportation route. Details are 
given that support this view. All sections of our country 
would share in the benefits of the canal, helping both aori- 
culture and manufactures. We quote Mr. Johnson : 

" The land masses of the world lie mostly in the northern 
hemisphere, and the chief industrial countries are situated 
in the north temperate zone. For centuries the most 
highly developed countries industrially have been those of 
southern and western Europe; from those countries, as a 
center, the commerce of the world has proceeded to the 
east and west to establish trade with Asia and America. 
The trade with the equatorial and south temperate portions 
of South America and Africa and with Australia constitutes 
a north-and-south commercial movement of secondary im- 
portance. The volume of trade which moves with the lines 
of longitude is increasinof, and will continue to orrow with 
the development of the countries lying south of the equator, 
but it will always be small in comparison with the interna- 
tional traffic which follows the parallels of latitude. 

"Although the world's commerce tends primarily to follow 
the parallels of latitude, all the water-borne traffic between 
the north Atlantic and north Pacific countries has been, until 
recendy, diverted far to the south by the interposing con- 



594 THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC. 

tinents. The natural land barrier, in each hemisphere, 
was uninterrupted from the Arctic Ocean to thirty-five de- 
grees south latitude in the eastern hemisphere, and is still 
continuous to over fifty degrees south in the American 
hemisphere. A glance at the map, however, shows that in 
the vicinity of the Tropic of Cancer in each hemisphere the 
land barrier becomes very narrow. The oceans and the 
Caribbean and Mediterranean seas form an almost com- 
plete and nearly direct water-girdle around the earth. 
Europe broke through the land barrier which diverted her 
commerce far out of its natural course when she opened 
the Suez Canal in 1869. The isthmian barrier that nature 
imposed across the natural path of American commerce 
still exists, and until it is pierced the industries of the United 
States will be seriously handicapped in their competition 
with Europe. 

" The most zealous advocates of the Nicaragua Canal, at 
the present time, are the people of the South. The indus- 
tries of the South are still primarily extractive. Her staple 
product is cotton, and the output has become larger than 
the European and American mills require. She is anxious 
to increase her sales in the Eastern countries, where there 
is a largfe and increasinor demand both for raw cotton and 
cotton eoods. The mining of coal and iron, the manufacture 
of iron, and the production of cotton textiles are all impor- 
tant and rapidly growing industries in the South, and the 
people of that section realize that the home markets are 
inadequate. Foreign trade is essential to the development 
of both her extractive and manufacturinof industries." 

The following tables, with annexed comment, are also 
offered as an argument in favor of the Canal, combining 
the veracity of mathematics with the precision of a diagram : 



Y 




; < 
! o 

■ 2 

■ 5 

' < 





NICARAGUA CANAL.— Near San Juan del Nokte.— At the Head ok San Jl an Ri\ ek 



THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC. 



597 



Distances in Statute Miles from San Francisco to New Orleans, New York, 
AND Liverpool by Existing Water Rouies and by Way of a Nicaraguan 
Canal. 



From San Francisco to — 



New Orleans 
New York . . 
Liverpool . . . 



Via 
Cape Horn. 



15.052 
14,840 
14,690 



Via Nicaragua 
Canal. 



4,047 
4,760 
7,508 



Distance Saved. 



11,005 

10,080 

7,182 



The Nicaragua Canal will shorten the ocean routes 
connectinof our Pacific cities with those of the Gulf and At- 
lantic more than any other routes through the water-way. 
In the above table distances around the Horn are given. 
Sailing vessels are obliged to take this course; steamers 
pass through the Straits of Magellan and shorten the dis- 
tance over two thousand miles. Passinir throuQ^h the straits 
shortens each route by nearly the same distance. 

Distances which the Nicaragua Canal will give American Gulf and Atlan- 
tic Ports over European Ports in the Trade with Western South America. 



Distance Saved. 



Between Valparaiso and — 



Liverpool . . . 
New Orleans 
New York . . 




1,026 

4,551 
3.426 



The Nicaragua Canal will bring European ports over 
one thousand miles nearer to Valparaiso than they now are. 
The distances to more northern ports are shortened still 
more. Steamers from Europe to points as far south as 
Valparaiso will make use of the canal. Sailing vessels 
34 



598 THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC 

bound for ports as far north as Valparaiso will probably 
round the Horn in order to escape the canal tolls and to 
avoid takinor an unfavorable course across the doldruni 
belt. American ports, however, will be brought three 
thousand miles nearer to the western ports ot South 
America than European cities will be. It is not surprising 
that under existing conditions over three-fourths of the 
trade of western South America is with Europe; but with 
the advantaofes which the Nicaragua Canal will orive us we 
ought to secure control over the larger portion of that 
commerce. 

The Hon. Warner Miller, ex-United States Senator, con- 
tributes a masterful article to "The Forum" of November, 
on "The Nicaragua Canal," and mentions the discovery 
of the Pacific Ocean by Balboa in 1513, since which there 
has been an ever-increasin^j desire to cut throufjh the 
narrow strip of the Isthmus of Darien. Mr. Miller makes 
this luminous statement, covering a history of nearly four 
centuries : 

" Spain, then at the height of her glory and power, di- 
rected all her captains, sailing to the New World, to seek 
for the strait (which they believed existed somewhere) con- 
nectinor the two oceans. 

"The discovery, in 1522, of a great lake situated at the 
summit, nearly in the centre of the Isthmus, together with 
a great river, the outlet of the lake, flowing to the east — 
which made it possible to approach in small vessels from 
the Atlantic to within twelve miles of the Pacific — seemed 
to indicate that at this point the Isthmus could be cut, and 
a free water-channel established. This lake is now known 
as Lake Nicaragua, and its outlet as the San Juan River. 

"From that day to the beginning of the present century 
many examinations of the Isthmus were made, and various 



THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC. ^^^ 

schemes devised for the construction of a canal; but 
the difficulties were too great for the engineers of the 
period. 

" The completion of the Suez Canal, in 1870, led to a re- 
vival of the interest in a canal across Central America. 
The unfortunate failure of Count de Lesseps and his com- 
pany at Panama, where many millions were squandered and 
stolen, has retarded movements looking to the construction 
of the canal. American engineers have always favored a 
canal by the way of the San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua; 
and that route has come to be known as the American 
route. One-half of the money wasted at Panama would 
have built the Nicaracjua Canal. Whilst the failure at 
Panama has prevented great capitalists from taking up the 
Nicaragua plan, the American people have never, for a 
moment, doubted the practicability of that route ; nor has 
their determination that the canal should be constructed 
there under American auspices been lessened. Repeated 
surveys of this route, made by the United States Govern- 
ment and by private parties, have demonstrated its practi- 
cability, and at a cost which would make the enterprise a 
commercial success. 

" The events of the Spanish- American War have so 
demonstrated the necessity of the canal, from a military as 
well as from a commercial standpoint, that the American 
people are substantially a unit, to-day, in demanding the 
immediate undertaking of the enterprise, and its accom- 
plishment at the earliest possible moment. The wonderful 
voyage of the batdeship Oregon round Cape Horn, and 
the return trip of the same vessel, accompanied by the 
loiva, were object lessons so striking that every unprejudiced 
mind must at once admit the necessity of the canal as a 
means of defense of our harbors and cities on both the 



6oo THE CONQUEST OE THE PACIEIC. 

Atlantic and Pacific coasts, as well as of our new outlying 
possessions and dependencies." 

Mr. Miller adds : 

" The Pacific Coast is a great empire by itself. It has 
been estimated that it is capable of producing food enough 
to support one hundred millions of people. The fertility 
of its soil and the salubrity of its climate cannot be sur- 
passed. Yet, at the present time, upon the entire coast 
from San Die^o to the line of British Columbia in the 
North, and running back to the mountains, there are fewer 
people, all told, by several hundred thousands, than are to- 
day contained in the city of New York. The failure of the 
Pacific Coast to make a great growth since the discovery of 
gold in 1849 has been a great disappointment to its early 
settlers. The reason is found in the fact that there is not 
sufficient profit in the pursuit of agriculture or lumbering 
to attract the surplus population of the East. Once the 
canal is opened, the population of the Pacific Coast will 
rapidly increase ; and before a decade has passed it will 
have more than doubled. This increased population will 
of necessity bring largely increased business to the rail- 
roads. The annual reports of several of the transconti- 
nental railroads show that their through business is less 
than 10 per cent, of the entire business of the roads, and 
that their profits are made upon short haul and not upon 
the freight carried from ocean to ocean. 

"After all these years of waiting. I am satisfied that the 
position in which this enterprise stands to-day, not only be- 
fore the American people, but before the whole commercial 
world, is such that its speedy accomplishment is assured, 
either by the Government of the United States or by pri- 
vate capital." 

A few words on the Panama Canal will be of interest 



THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFTC. 6oi 

here. This canal was begun in September, 1884, the plans 
showing excavations of 160 miUion cubic yards. This in- 
cluded a tunnel of four miles or 7,000 yards, 100 feet wide 
and 160 feet in height, to cost ^4,000 per lineal yard. The 
whole was to be finished in 1892, at an estimated cost of 
about $140,000,000. 

In December, 1885, Baron de Lesseps had at work 10,000 
men, 169 locomotives, 12,000 wagons and seven dredges. 
Each of the dredges was capable of excavating 100,000 
cubic yards monthly. 

In March, 1888, after forty-two months of work, the total 
excavations reached only 53,000,000 cubic yards, or one- 
third of the total, and had cost $200,000,000. The work 
remaining to be excavated was 36,000,000 tons of stone 
and 54,000,000 tons of clay. In all 82,000,000 cubic yards. 
The works were suspended in January, 1889, the Company 
having expended $300,000,000. This, however, was the 
nominal amount of stock. It is thought the actual cost of 
the work accomplished was less than $200,000,000. 

The Suez Canal was begun by De Lesseps in 1856 and 
completed in 1869, at a cost of $85,000,000. The length 
is 92 miles, depth 26 feet. The toll, per vessel, averages 
$4,000, or $2 per ton of net tonnage. Tugs are provided 
for sailing vessels at a charge of $1,000. The saving to 
commerce, by reason of the canal, is about $25,000,000 
per annum. Electric light is used for passage by night. 
The mean duration of passage is about 27 hours. The use 
of the Suez Canal shortens the voyage between England 
and the East by one-third ; that is, it enables two vessels to 
do the same work that would require three by the way of 
the Cape of Good Hope. 

The gross receipts of the Suez Canal, in 1891, were 
$16,843,000, and the dividends have been from 18 to 20 per 



6o2 THE CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC. 

cent. The shares of the canal held by the British Govern- 
ment cost ^20,000,000; they are worth to-day, at the 
market price, ^95,000,000. So much for Disraeli's Oriental 
politics. 

In relation to the Nicaragua Canal the question that has 
seemed, for some years, very difficult and pressing, has 
been not whether the canal shall be built, but whether it 
shall be ultimately or immediately constructed by Ameri- 
cans and under the control of the United States. In our 
present relation to the world the canal is needed for self- 
defense, and the policy of American Expansion makes the 
demand for the canal imperative and urgent. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

AMERICAN EXPANSION. 

The Fathers of the Republic included the Father of His Country, who was "First 
in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen," and an Ex- 
pander of the Colonies, the States, and the Nation— Thomas Jefferson was the 
Great Annexationist — Andrew Jackson was an Expander — So were James Polk, 
Andrew Johnson, William H. Seward, Charles Sumner — Expansion is the Policy 
of the People — There is Magic in the Flag of Freedom and Glory to Americanize 
the Inhabitants of Our Possessions. 

The footsteps of the Fathers of the RepubHc, from the 
time when the French floated down the Mississippi and St. 
Lawrence Rivers, pointed West and South — expanding the 
area of the Enghsh settlements — and this early manifesta- 
tion of destiny continued to the southern and western 
lands of the Continent, when the British in their turn 
sailed with the Gulf stream to Halifax and beyond. 

When a boy, George Washington visited the Bermudas 
with his elder brother, who had served with Admiral Vernon 
in the West Indies. Returning to Virginia he began to ex- 
plore the Ohio country before he was twenty-one years of 
age upon a mission to oust the French, and was expanding 
his landed possessions in that direction as long as he lived. 
Thus is linked in the life of the Father of his Country the 
West Indies and the lands beyond the Alleghenies, to which, 
in his crowded and busy life, he found time to pay six visits.* 

* Mount Vernon in Virginia, July 15, 1773- 
The Subscriber having obtained Patents for upwards of TWENTY THOUSAND 
Acres of LAND on the Ohio and Great Kanhawa (Ten Thousand of which are situated 
on the banks of the first-mentioned river, between the mouths of the two Kanhawas, 
and the remainder on the Great Kanhawa, or New River, from the mouth, or near it, 
upwards, in one continued survey) proposes to divide the same into any sized tenements 
that may be desired, and lease them upon moderate terms, allowing a reasonable number 

603 



6o4 AMERICAN EXPANSION. 

Alexander Hamilton, the true friend and trusted confiv 
dant of Washington, was born at Nevis, in the West Indies, 
and in his boyhood had a marvelous intelligence, the inspira- 
tion of a statesmanship that was impressed profoundly upon 
our country; and he with "Light-Horse Harry," the father 
of the Lees, were with Washington when he marched 10,000 
men to put down the whiskey insurrection in the West, and 

of years' rent free, provided, within the space of two years from next October, three 
acres for every fifty contained in each lot, and proportionably for a lesser quantity, shall 
be cleared, fenced, and tilled; and that, by or before the time limited for the commence- 
ment of the first rent, five acres for every hundred, and proportionably, as above, shall 
be enclosed and laid down in good grass for meadow ; and, moreover, that at least fifty 
good fruit trees for every like quantity of land shall be planted on the Premises. Any 
persons inclinable to settle on these lands may be more fully informed of the terms by 
applying to the subscriber, near Alexandria, or, in his al)sence, to Mr. LUND WASH- 
INGTON; and would do well in communicating their intentions before the 1st of 
October next, in order that a sufficient number of lots may be laid off to answer the 
demand. 

As these lands are among the first which have been surveyed in the part of the country 
they lie in, it is almost needless to premise that none can exceed them in luxuriance of 
soil, or convenience of situation, all of them lying upon the banks either of the Ohio or 
Kanhawa, and abounding with fine fish and wild fowl of various kinds, as also in most 
excellent meadows, many of which (by the bountiful hand of nature) are, in their pres- 
ent state, almost fit for the scythe. From every part of these lands water carriage is nov/ 
had to Fort Pitt, by an easy communication ; and from Fort Pitt, up the Alonongahela, 
to Redstone, vessels of convenient burthen may and do pass continually ; from whence, 
by means of Cheat River, and other navigable branches of the Monongahela, it is 
thought the portage to Potowmack may, and will, be reduced within the compass of a 
few miles, to the great ease and convenience of the settlers in transporting the produce 
of their lands to market. To which may be added, that as patents have now actually 
passed the seals for the several tracts here offered to be leased, settlers on them may cul- 
tivate and enjoy the lands in peace and safety, notwithstanding the unsettled counsels 
respecting a new colony on the Ohio ; and as no right money is to be paid for these 
lands, and quitrent of two shillings sterling a hundred, demandable some years hence 
only, it is highly presumable that they will always be held upon a more desirable footing 
than where both these are laid on with a very heavy hand. And it may not be amiss 
further to observe, that if the scheme for establishing a new government on the Ohio, in 
the manner talked of, should ever be effected, these must be among the most valuable 
lands in it, not only on account of the goodness of soil, and the other advantages above 
enumerated, but from their contiguity to the seat of government, which more than prob- 
lible will be fixed at the mouth of the Great Kanhawa. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



AMERICAN EXPANSION. 605 

got SO far, when the anarchists of the Monongahela Val- 
ley disappeared, as to dine with James Gillespie, Blaine's 
grandfather, when the august Washington spoke of his wife 
as " My Patsy." Thus with the port wine and the hickory 
nuts was ended our first war after the Revolution. 

John Adams sturdily refused a proposition to give up the 
Ohio, Wabash, and Illinois country to the English, prefer- 
ring to continue the war rather than yield an inch of soil ; 
though even Benjamin Franklin favored yielding to the pre- 
tensions of England, in the Northwest, for the sake of 
peace ; but Franklin was old and weary, and this episode 
has been forgiven in forgetfulness. 

Fortunately George Rogers Clark, born in the same 
country with Jefferson, had a friend in Governor Patrick 
Henry, and was authorized by him to raise men, and given 
a lot of paper money to undertake a secret expedition, which 
was to dispossess the English at Vincennes and Kaskas- 
kia, and he did it with surprisingly stinted means, giving 
Viro-inia a title to the Northwest under the usages of mili- 
tary law. George Rogers Clark, "the Hannibal of the 
West," in spite of failures, mistakes, and sorrows, is a name 
written on the roll of the immortals. 

Thomas Jefferson surpassed in glorious achievement 
the authorship of the Declaration of Independence, in pur- 
chasing twice the amount of land we o-ot from Eno^land, 
by the concession of the treaty with her, when she sur- 
rendered her thirteen colonies to self-government. Begin- 
ning, in 1783, with 827,844 square miles, we have, not 
counting our recent acquisitions of islands, 3,603,884 
square miles. Jefferson's purchase was 1,171,931 square 
miles. Thus his greater glory came from a conscious 
violation of his own interpretation of the Constitution, in 
buyino; land from Napoleon Bonaparte, who had no tide to 



6o6 AMERICAN EXPANSION. 

it, save that he had taken it red-handed and high-handed 
from Spain, whose abuse of her colonies made it a pubHc 
virtue to capture them, and England was getting ready 
to despoil the robber. 

Notwithstanding the violation of the Constitution and 
the deficiency of the land title, the bargain stuck, and was 
one of the greatest events in the makine of our nation. 
Andrew Jackson confirmed the purchase with a quit-claim 
deed — the Battle of New Orleans, fought after the treaty 
had been signed — a precedent to be cited in the case of 
the Philippines, along with Kaskaskia and Vincennes — if 
some of the monarchs want to see our papers for real- 
estate holdings. We shall adhere, certainly, to our preced- 
ents and principles. 

It is strange that in the second third of the first century 
of the Republic, the greater political leaders of that era 
should have lost the lesson of the Jeffersonian Expansion. 
Webster and Clay faltered on the high-road when America 
moved on, and we gained Texas by annexation ; and New 
Mexico, Colorado (in part), Arizona, and California, by the 
sword. It was Andrew Jackson's influence, in his last 
days, that overwhelmingly carried the acceptance of im- 
perial Texas; and James K. Polk and Andrew Johnson — 
the other two of the Tennessee Presidents — gave us our 
Pacific front, with the aid of an Oregon missionary, in- 
cluding Golden-Gated and Golden-Walled California; and 
Alaska, crowded with riches in reserve, and the Aleutian 
Islands. 

In the latter third of our first century there was an evi- 
dence of a broadening of statesmanship in recognizing 
the destiny of the country, that, instead of crumbling 
throuo-h civil war and consenting to weakness because the 
brethren of the several States shed each other's blood, 



AMERICAN EXPANSION. 



607 



grew strong in warfare and became a majestic nation. 
William H. Seward and Charles Sumner joined hands with 
Andrew Johnson in securing the magnificent bargain with 
Russia that gave us footing on the shores of the Behrino- 
Sea and to our flag in the summer days — from sunrise in 
Maine to sunset on our archipelago in the shadow of Si- 
beria — six additional hours of sunshine. 

We may remark a parallel between the policy of Thomas 
Jefferson when he sent his private secretary, at the head 
of Lewis and Clark's Expedition, up the Missouri, and 
down the Oregon to the Pacific, because he said he did not 
know enough about the lands beyond the Mississippi and 
the Rocky Mountains to make recommendations concern- 
ing them to Congress ; and the policy of President McKin- 
ley, who was not sure enough of his information about the 
Philippines, when the protocol of peace was written, to take 
all responsibility upon himself in deciding the fate of those 
islands, and, wisely guided, wrote the words that referred 
the profound problem not to the Commission at Paris, not 
to the army at Manila, not to Admiral Dewey's fleet, not to 
Congress, but to the people of the United States ; and 
upon this act he might have invoked, as Abraham Lincoln 
did when he prepared the proclamation of Emancipation, 
" The considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious 
favor of Almighty God." At the same time the President, 
as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, sent an ad- 
ditional division of troops to Manila, and prepared the 
Oregon and the Iowa to join Admiral Dewey. Admiral 
Dewey wanted two batdeships, and two were sent, plowing 
the waters around South America; they were the most fa- 
mous fighting-ships in the navies of the world. In this there 
was something more than harmony — there was consensus 
of good judgment and common inspiration of patriotism. 



6o8 AMERICAN EXPANSION. 

The paths by which the Fathers marked out this country 
for greatness prevented the Continent from dismember- 
ment in European and Spanish-American fashion. The 
footsteps of the nation-builders are there. Benignant prov- 
idence, sound statesmanship, history, tradition, the in- 
structed judgment of Americanism, are not faiUng to guide 
our steps aright. 

The name of WilHam H. Seward belongs in the role of 
honor of the promoters of American Expansion because 
in his maturity he outgrew the leaders he followed in his 
youth, and closed with Russia when her good-will offering 
of Alaska came, and, going further, sought to purchase the 
Danish Islands in the West Indies and to include Iceland 
and Greenland. With this object he had compiled, in 1868, 
a report of the resources of Iceland and Greenland, but 
public opinion then regarded his ideas as romantic. 

Shall we permit to go unchallenged the feebleness of the 
folly that especially opposes the acquisition of islands be- 
cause they are surrounded by water, and say that we never 
did such a thine as cross the waves to eet land, until it was 
done in the annexation of Hawaii ? Why, we must put to 
sea to find a free road to Alaska, and it is worth remember- 
ing that the art of navigation is so far perfected that the 
seas are the cheapest roads on the globe, and open to end- 
less competition. The oceans are free with the islands 
thereof Salt water does not damage land, and with all 
our experience in the policy of Expansion we have never 
added an acre to our national domain that was not good 
for us. It is not likely that we shall ever do so. Perhaps 
we talk so much about our flag that our words cease to 
have fullness of meanino- and we foro-et to remember and 
have faith that the story of the Nation, in history, testifies 
there is redeeming magic in the Stars and Stripes. Neither 



AMERICAN EXPANSION. 609 

Gomez in Cuba, nor Aguinaldo in Luzon, can keep insur- 
gents in the field against us, because the breeze that un- 
furls our banner wafts the grievances of the people away. 

We keep the Philippines because we must. It is a duty 
of State. We have destroyed the Spanish government 
there and are responsible to civilization for the result. 
The announcement that we shall permanendy possess the 
islands is a proclamation of peace and prosperity. Any- 
thing else is war, chaos, poverty, and ruin. How can an 
American think seriously of yielding to any power the fruits 
of Dewey's victory.^ When he destroyed the Spanish fleet, 
according to orders issued on the first day of the war with 
Spain, he did not abandon the scene of his conquest, but, 
animated by the spirit of the Fathers, he followed their foot- 
steps and held on to the great prize he had won. The 
Philippines are equal to all the West Indies, the victorious 
Admiral is there, and declares he will stay until ordered 
away or "all is settled ; " and his "settled," three times re- 
peated, means what our Commissioners in Paris have said 
and done. 

Organized Labor should look carefully at both sides of 
the Labor Question in the Philippines, as it arises in the 
adjustments of annexation, and consider whether Ameri- 
cans in control of an Asian population of eight millions 
cannot be missionaries in the cause of Labor, so that there 
shall be rather emulation than competition between the 
laboring people of America and Asia, leveling the latter up 
rather than the former down. There is a stupendous 
problem here, and thoughtfulness regarding it should begin 
with the sincere admission that there may be honest and 
radical differences of opinion ; and there is too much at 
stake for hasty decisions. 

The question that towers above all is, How shall the 



6io AMERICAN EXPANSION. 

American people be affected by the expansion of their pos- 
sessions ? We wish all the peoples of all the continents 
and islands well, but our first care must be for the folks at 
home. It does not follow that if we conquer islands, drive 
out Spaniards or other oppressors, and spread the flag 
that is our popular and national symbol over people who 
are strangers, that we shall of necessity go on multiplying 
states. We must safeguard Americanism, and the effective 
way to do it is to stand firm on the bed-rock principle that 
we want more territory for the great hereafter of our 
Country, but not more states now or soon. Certainly we 
can hold territory as territory forever. Contact with us and 
our institutions will Americanize the population of our pos- 
sessions. We have a graver race question at home than 
we can find abroad. It is most difficult because imbedded 
in the structure of the states. 

There will not be and should not be manhood suffrage 
in the sense of indiscriminate male suffrage in Porto Rico, 
Cuba, Hawaii, or the Philippines, until some time has 
passed and there are many changes. Immediate manhood 
suffrage in our new possessions is as impracticable, as im- 
possible, as the re-establishment of American slavery in the 
states. The alleo^ed insuro-ent governments in Cuba and 
Luzon must be brushed aside, for they are not of the people. 
We do not want a government of Cuban bond-holders or 
any exclusive prerogatives in the hands of the Tagalo 
tribe of Malays, of whom Aguinaldo is representative. He 
is the head of one tribe, not of the people. 

Americanism will work wonders in the tropical islands, 
as on the North American Continent. We shall overcome 
insurgents in the Indies, West and East, by the irresistible 
attraction of gravitation of the overshadowing power of 
the mighty Republic, that is too great to be longer over- 



AMERICAN EXPANSION. 6ii 

looked by others, and would shirk duties by overlooking 
herself. 

The Spanish authorities, when surrendering- their army 
at Manila, 5,000 in number, stronger than that of the Ameri- 
cans, proposed to insert many stipulations in the articles 
of capitulation, for the protection of personal rights and 
various claims to public property, but at last consented to 
the sufficiency of the proudly significant words, first used in 
the capitulation of the City of Mexico, confiding all things, 
not particularized, to "the faith and honor of the Army of 
the United States." Let all the people know and set ring- 
ing and re-echoing the music of that lofty phrase of melody 
and glory; and whether the flag, which is the signal of it 
all, is exalted and advanced over the land or the sea, we 
may safely trust that we, the people of the United States, 
walking in the footsteps of the Fathers, will still find new 
land for the people and maintain in "faith and honor" the 
arms and trophies of the reunited country, and, after the 
examples they venerate, magnify the common inheritance 
and increase the influences that make for liberty the world 
around, until the sun shall never cease to shine on the flag, 
and the flag in every star and fold protects the people who 
have been cast down, and is radiant with the most precious 
part of righteousness — the rights of man. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 

We must go up and to the Front — All the Land we have Annexed has been 
Good for the People — We have Reached the Limit on this Continent 
and Need Islands— The Duties Belonging to our Growth and Destiny. 

The progress of mankind summons the nation ot the 
United States of North America to exercise the influence 
belonging to a great people, and participate, as a power, 
in the affairs of the world. 

The century, whose closing years we have reached, has 
been, in human advancement, equal to a thousand years 
of other times, and we have been exceptional in growth in 
all that increases resources and responsibilities. 

The citizens of this republic revere the memory of the 
fathers, and have so affectionate a regard for their pre- 
cepts, and respect for that which they accomplished, it 
seems unfaithful not to recognize the limitations of those 
who fought out the Revolution, framed the Constitution, 
converted the colonies into states, and formed a "more 
perfect union " than the confederation. 

However, it is clear to the students of our country's ex- 
pansion and consolidation that the men of the Revolution 
had but an imperfect idea of the immensity of the fabric of 
which they laid the deep foundations. Washington and 
Jefferson were the men who, more than others of their day, 
had foresight of the stupendous destiny of the people who 
absorbed, to themselves, the splendid name of America, 
and gave the word a glorious, national character, though 
geographically it comprehended two vast continents. Wash- 
ington, whose appreciation of the West exceeded that of 
612 





LAKE NICARAGUA. 





NICARAGUAN CANAL — In the Mountains of Nicaragua — Ax La Virgen. 



OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 615 

his generation, did not understand that we had a future 
beyond the Mississippi, and Jefferson had not, in his su- 
perb and searching foresight, beheld the Pacific as a boun- 
dary of the repubhc, until Washington was in his o-rave, 
and the Louisiana Purchase made a vast reality out of a 
vision few dreamers had dared to dream. 

The first necessities in founding a nation are people of 
integrity and capacity, active in good works, bravery and 
enterprise, rich in vital force, and land upon which they can 
increase in population, and thrive through productive in- 
dustry. 

We, of the United States have had unexampled happy 
fortune in gaining the territory indispensable to our im- 
perial development. 

In this volume is recorded the story of the Conquest of 
the North-western Territory by George Rogers Clark. 
There is perpetual surprise that there was so enormous a 
gain by ways so rude, and means so scanty. 

Including all that Clark occupied and possessed for 
Virginia, through the capture of Kaskaskia and Vincennes, 
we started where the boundaries were formed between 
our premises and those of Great Britain, with less than one- 
fourth the area of the landed estate that is our unchal- 
leno-ed dominion. 

The territory of the United States was acquired in ces- 
sions by foreign nations as follows : 

NATION. DATE OF TREATY. AMOUNT PAID. AREA SQ. MILES. 

1. Great Britain, .... Sept. 3, 1783 827,844 

2. France Apr. 30, 1803 $15,000,000 1,171,931 

3. Spain, Feb. 22, 1819 6,500,000 59>268 

4. Texas, . March 2, 1845 10,000,000 376,133 

5. Mexico, Feb. 2, 1848 15,000,000 545783 

6. " Dec. 30, 1853 10,000,000 45.535 

7. Russia, March 30, 1867 7,200,000 577,39° 

Total area of the United States 3,603,884 

35 



6i6 OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 

It should be remembered that the whole area of the 
United States was given away by patents or grants. In 
1609, for instance, King James I., of England, granted a 
charter to the so-called Virginia Companies of a strip of 
country four hundred miles wide, extending from the At- 
lantic westward. It was to be measured from Old Point 
Comfort, two hundred miles north and two hundred miles 
south. In 1620 the Plymouth Company obtained a charter 
to the so-called "Great Patent," comprising the country 
between the fortieth and forty-eighth parallel of latitude, 
extendinor from the Atlantic Ocean westward. Under this 
grant all the earliest settlements in New England were 
made, the Plymouth Company making sub-grants for this 
purpose. One of the first of these was the grant to the 
Massachusetts Bay Company of the lands lying between 
the lines drawn three miles north of all parts of the Merri- 
mac, and three miles south of the Charles River and of 
Massachusetts Bay. This grant was made in 1629. 

The territory of Connecticut was granted in 1631 by the 
Plymouth Company to Lords Say-and-Seal, Brooke and 
others. Its limits were defined as follows : " All of that 
part of New England west of the Narragansett, extending 
the space of forty leagues upon a straight line near the 
seashore, towards the south and west, as the coast lieth 
towards Virginia, accounting three English miles to the 
league ; and also all and singular lands and hereditaments 
whatsoever, lying and being within the lands aforesaid, 
north and south in latitude, and in breadth and length, a 
longitude of, and within all the breadth aforesaid, throughout 
all the mainlands there from the western to the South Sea." 

The first charter of the Carolinas was granted to Sir 
Walter Raleigh in 1584, and as the attempts at coloniza- 
tion under the original grant failed, Connecticut made a 



OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 617 

grant of the Carollnas to Earl Clarendon in 1663, including 
in it the territory lying between the thirty-first and thirty- 
sixth parallels and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. 

The lines of the original grants mark, in a great many 
instances, the boundary lines between our States. The 
original limits of the United States at the close of the 
Revolution extended as far west as the Mississippi, and as 
far south as the boundary line between Georgia and 
Florida. The Treaty of Peace between the United States 
and Great Britain, concluded September 3d, 1 783, conceded 
this boundary ; but no sooner had the treaty been ratified 
when the northern boundary line became a source of con- 
tention between the two countries, which was not settled 
until 1872. In the Treaty of London, signed November 
19, 1794, provision was made for ascertaining whether a 
line drawn due west from the northwest point of the Lake 
of the Woods would strike the Mississippi. This question 
was not settled, however, until 181 8. The same treaty 
made provision for the settlement of the identity of the 
River St. Croix. The line was established alpng this 
stream, and a monument was erected at the head of its 
northern branch, the Cheputneticook, for the purpose of 
definino- that branch. 

By the Treaty of Ghent, December 24, 1815, provision 
was made for a final adjustment of the northern boundary, 
but no definite agreement was reached. In 181 8 it was 
agreed that the boundary line should be extended westward 
on the 47th parallel of latitude from the Lake of the Woods 
to the Rocky Mountains, and that the country west of the 
Rocky Mountains should be free and open to the citizens 
of both countries for a period of ten years. 

In 1824-26 negotiations were again opened for the set- 
tlement of the boundary west of the Rocky Mountains, but 



6i8 OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 

again no agreement was reached, as both parties insisted 
on the legaHty of their claim. In 1827 the points of differ- 
ence between the two countries, with regard to the northern 
boundary of Maine, were referred to the King of the Nether- 
lands as an arbitrator. The decision of the King was a 
compromise, making the course of St. John's River the 
boundary line. 

This was agreed to by Great Britain, but was strongly 
opposed by the citizens of Maine. It at one time threatened 
to be the cause of war. 

By the Webster- Ashburton Treaty, concluded in 1842, 
the boundary was established finally, very nearly as decided 
by the royal arbitrator. This treaty also finally established 
the boundary as far West as the Rocky Mountains. 

By the treaty with Great Britain in 1846, the northern 
boundary was continued from the Rocky Mountains west- 
ward to the straits of Juan de Fuca, along the 49th 
parallel, and down through the main channel of the above 
straits to the Pacific. The question immediately arose, 
however, as to the definition of the " main ship channel," in 
the straits of Juan de Fuca. The English claimed the 
Rosario Strait, while the United States claimed that it 
should follow the Canal Haro. This dispute was settled by 
arbitration of the Emperor of Germany, who decided in 
favor of the United States on the 2 1 st day of October, 1 872, 
thus disposing of the last remaining point at issue. 

Concerning the Southern boundary, the boundaries be- 
tween the Thirteen Original States were, at the organiza- 
tion of the United States Government, established very 
nearly as they are at present, with the exception of the 
western lands owned or claimed by several of the States. 
Maine was a province of Massachusetts ; Vermont was 
part of New York State; Massachusetts had very nearly its 



OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 619 

present boundaries and area, but also laid claim to all of 
the country lying west of a meridian, passing twenty miles 
west of Niagara River, extending south to latitude 42.2, 
and west to the Mississippi River, an area some seventy or 
eighty miles in breadth, and comprising the southern part 
of Michigan and Wisconsin, and the northern part of 
Illinois. Connecticut also laid claim to the country west 
of the western boundary of Pennsylvania to the Missis- 
sippi, between latitude 41 and 42.2, being the northern 
part of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and the southern part of 
Michiofan. 

New York state laid claim, under an old charter, to all 
of the lands between the source of the Great Lakes and 
the Cumberland mountains. Pennsylvania did not origi- 
nally extend to Lake Erie ; that area has been since added 
and previously belonged to the state of New York. Vir- 
ginia laid claim to the area covered by West Virginia, 
Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and that part 
of Minnesota lying east of the Mississippi. North Carolina 
claimed the territory covered by the state of Tennessee ; 
South Carolina laid claim to a narrow strip of country, four- 
teen miles wide, south of the 35th parallel of latitude, also 
extending to the Mississippi. 

Georgia had, with the exception of the latter strip, an 
undoubted tide, in addition to its own area, to the portion 
of Alabama and Mississippi then owned by the United 
States. The organization of territories, the admission of 
states, and the principal changes in the boundary lines of 
states and territories will be here briefly stated. 

In 1 788 what was known as the North-west Territory, 
comprising the present states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
Michigan, Wisconsin and that part of Minnesota east of 
the Mississippi River, was organized. 



620 OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 

March 4, 1791, Vermont was admitted as a state. 

March 30, 1791, the District of Cokimbia, comprising one 
hundred square miles, was ceded to the United States by 
the states of Maryland and Virginia. June i, 1792, Ken- 
tucky was admitted to the Union. June i, 1796, Tennessee 
became one of the states. 

April 7, 1798, Mississippi Territory was organized from a 
portion of the lands ceded by Georgia, comprising about 
one-half of the southern area of the states of Alabama 
and Mississippi. Jurisdiction over this area, however, 
remained with the state of Georgia. 

May 7, 1800, Indiana Territory was organized. It was 
constituted from that portion of the North-west Territory 
lying west of the present eastern boundary line of Indiana 
and extending due north to the Great Lakes. 

April 30, 1802, that part of the state of Michigan east of 
the eastern boundary of Indiana was added to Indiana Ter- 
ritory. The state of Ohio attained its present boundary, 
also a narrow strip in the northernmost part. 

On November 29, 1802, Ohio was admitted to the Union 
as a state. 

1804, Mississippi Territory was enlarged by the addi- 
tion of the remainder of the present areas of Alabama 
and Mississippi, with the exception of those portions 
to the south of the 31st parallel extending to the Gulf of 
Mexico. 

1804, the Territory of Orleans was organized, comprising 
the present area of Louisiana, with the exception of the 
portion between the Amite river, and Lakes Mourepas and 
Pontchartrain and the Pearl river. The remainder of the 
Louisiana Purchase continued to bear the name of Louis- 
iana Territory. 

June 30, 1805, Michigan Territory was organized from 



OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 621 

the northern part of Indiana Territory, between Lake Su- 
perior, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. 

February 3, 1809, the Territory of llHnois was formed. 

April 30, 181 2, Orleans Territory was admitted as a state 
under the name of Louisiana, and Louisiana Territory was 
changed to Missouri Territory. 

181 2, Mississippi Territory was enlarged by the addition 
of the portions extending to the Gulf of Mexico, below the 
2 1 St parallel. 

December 11, 1816, Indiana was admitted as a state, 
with its present boundaries. 

March 3, 1 8 1 7, Alabama Territory was created from a 
part of Mississippi Territory, excepting that portion below 
the 3 1 St parallel. 

December 10, 181 7, Mississippi was admitted to the 
Union as a state. 

December 3, 181 8, Illinois was admitted to the Union. 

March 2, 18 19, Arkansas Territory was created from a 
part of Missouri Territory, its western boundary extending 
to the Spanish possessions, afterwards- ceded to the United 
States. 

December 14, 18 19, Alabama was admitted to statehood 
with its present limits. 

March 15, 1820, Maine was detached from Massachusetts 
and admitted to the Union. August 10, 182 1, the state of 
Missouri was formed from part of Missouri Territory and 
was admitted as a state. 

March 30, 1822, Florida Territory was organized, com- 
prising the area purchased from Spain in 18 19. 

In 1828 the western boundary of Arkansas Territory was 
reduced to its present area. 

June 15, 1836, Arkansas was admitted to statehood. 

July 30, 1836, Wisconsin Territory was organized from 



622 OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 

parts of Michigan and Missouri Territories. In 1836, the 
western boundary of Missouri was changed, estabhshing 
the present area of that state. 

In 1836 the northern boundary of Ohio was readjusted, 
giving the state its present area. 

January 26, 1837, Michigan was admitted to the Union. 

July 3, 1838, Iowa Territory was created. 

March 3, 1845, Iowa was admitted to statehood. March 
3, 1845, Florida was admitted to the Union. 

December 29, 1845, Texas, which had declared her inde- 
pendence of Mexico in 1836, joined the United States. 

July 9, 1846, that portion of the District of Columbia 
which had been ceded to the general government by Vir- 
ginia, was retroceded to that state. 

December 28th, 1846, the boundary of the state of Iowa 
was readjusted, giving it its present limits. May 29, 1848, 
Wisconsin was admitted as a state. August 14, 1848, the 
Territory of Oregon was created, comprising the present 
states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and part of Montana. 

March 3, 1849, Minnesota Territory was created, com- 
prising that part of the former Territory of Iowa now in- 
cluded in the State of Iowa, and extending east to the 
western boundary of Wisconsin. 

In 1850, Texas sold to the general government, all of 
her original area not included in her present limits, for 
5^10,000,000. 

September 9, 1850, California was admitted as a state. 
September 9, 1850, Utah Territory was created. It ex- 
tended as far west as California, and east to the Rocky 
Mountains, south to the 37th parallel and north to the 42d 
parallel. 

December 13, 1-850, the Territory of New Mexico was 
created ; its area being composed of the remainder of the 



OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 623 

land acquired from Mexico, and a part of the land sold to 
the United States by Texas. 

On March 2, 1853, Washington Territory was organized, 
extending east to the Rocky Mountains. 

December 30, 1853, the area of New Mexico Territory 
was increased by the Gadsden purchase. 

May 30, 1854, Nebraska Territory was created. It com- 
prised all of the region between the 40th and 49th parallels 
from the Missouri to the Rocky Mountains. 

May 30, 1854, Kansas Territory was created. It ex- 
tended from the southern boundary of Nebraska Territory 
to the 37th parallel, and from the Missouri to the Rocky 
Mountains. 

May II, 1858, Minnesota was admitted to statehood. 

February 14, 1859, Oregon was admitted to the Union. 
The remaining part of Oregon Territory was added to 
Washington Territory. 

January 29, 1861, Kansas was admitted as a state. 

February 28, 1861, Colorado Territory was created from 
portions of Utah, New Mexico, Kansas and Nebraska Ter- 
ritory. 

March 21, 1861, Dakota Territory was formed from part 
of Minnesota and Nebraska Territory. It extended from 
its present eastern boundary to the summit of the Rocky 
Mountains. 

March 2, 1861, Nevada Territory was created from part 
of Utah Territory. 

February 24, 1863, Arizona Territory was formed from 
portions of New Mexico Territory. 

March 3, 1863, Idaho Territory was formed from por- 
tions of Washington, Dakota, and Nebraska Territory. 
Its original limits comprised the present States of Idaho, 
Montana, Wyoming, and part of Utah. 



624 OLR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 

June 19, 1863, West Virginia was admitted to statehood. 

May 26, 1864, Montana Territory was created, 

October 31, 1864, Nevada was admitted to statehood. 
Its boundary was moved one degree of longitude further 
east. 

In 1866 the eastern boundary of Nevada was moved a 
second deo^ree further east. 

March i, 1867, Nebraska was admitted to statehood. 

July 25, 1868, Wyoming Territory was created. 

February 1 7, 1873, Congress, under the erroneous impres- 
sion that by a mistake in defining boundaries, a part of 
Dakota had been left detached, near the point where Idaho, 
Montana and Wyoming joined, passed an Act adding such 
area to Montana. 

August I, 1876, Colorado was admitted to the Union. 

November 2, 1889, North and South Dakota were ad- 
mitted to statehood. 

November 11, 1889, Washington became a state. 

July 3, 1890, Idaho was admitted to the Union. July 
II, 1890, Wyoming was added to the Union of states. 
January 4, 1896, Utah was admitted. 

Cession of the Province of Louisiana. — This province 
was granted by Louis XIV., September 14, 171 2, to An- 
thony Crozart for fifteen years. It was afterwards granted 
for twenty-five years to the "Western Company," or, as 
afterward called, "Company of the Indies," of which John 
Law was principal mover. The grant was surrendered to 
the Crown in 1730. The province was ceded by France to 
Spain, February 10, 1763. Formal possession was given, 
August 18, 1769. Spain re-ceded the province to France, 
October i, 1800. France ceded it to the United States 
by treaty, April 30, 1803. 

Its western boundary, as finally adjusted by treaty with 



OUR IXTERNATIOXAL POLICY. 625 

Spain, Februar}' 22, 1S19, was as follows: Up the Sabine 
River, to and along the 94th meridian, to and along the Red 
River, and to and along the looth meridian, to and along 
the Arkansas river to its source, thence due north to and 
along the 42d parallel to the Pacific Ocean. 

Its northern boundary has conformed to the boundary 
established between the British possessions and the United 
States. 

Its eastern boundary was regarded as the Mississippi 
River, as far south as the 31st parallel, where different 
boundaries were claimed. 

Spain claimed, that by her cession to France in 1800, she 
ceded no territory east of the Mississippi River, except the 
Island of New Orleans ; and also claimed that her province 
of West Florida included the territory south of the 31st 
parallel, and between the Perdido and Mississippi Rivers, 
except the Island of New Orleans. 

The United States construed the cession of France to 
include this disputed territory. 

The Province of Louisiana, as claimed by the United 
States, included the area of the present states of Alabama 
and ^Mississippi, below the 31st parallel; all of Louisiana, 
Arkansas, Missouri and Iowa ; that part of Minnesota west 
of the Mississippi River, and a line drawn from its source 
to the international boundar)' line; all of Dakota, Nebraska 
and Indian Country; all of Kansas, except a small south- 
western portion, bounded north by the Arkansas River, 
west of the lOOth meridian ; all of Colorado north of the 
Arkansas River, and east of the Rocky Mountains ; all of 
Wyoming east of the io6th meridian, and north of the 42d 
parallel, and all of Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. 

When the American Colonies of England became free, 
they were war-worn, and the thought of resumption of hos- 
26 



626 OLR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 

tilities with the British, for the sake of wild land, was dis- 
tressing. Besides there was a party then, as now, favorable 
to a select sort of country, a conveniently compact territory, 
and especially a homogeneous people. It was feared a 
Republican form of government could not be maintained 
unless the people were much alike and well acquainted. 
There was, as now, a sense of alarm about foreigners com- 
ing across the Atlantic and endowed with as many rights 
as those born on the soil, and it was held to be disturbing 
that we expanded so rapidly as not to allow the older parts 
of the country to be perfected before going further to fare 
better or worse. There was, indeed, opposition not merely 
to immigration from Europe, but to emigration that had 
a tendency to found new cities rather than improve old 
ones, and clear fresh fields rather than go on with old ones. 
There was, altogether, a strong public opinion against the 
United States becoming a Great Country, because it was 
too much trouble, and Republicanism was so far untried 
that it was extra-hazardous to attempt too much. Hence 
the Ohio Valley might have been sacrificed — indeed, was in 
danger for a time, because the area of the then west, now 
the heart of the country, was so astounding that the people 
would be so widely scattered, it could not be possible to 
look after them. It took some time to find out that the 
people could manage themselves very well, and that thinly 
settled regions were, as a rule, those in which the spirit of 
unconquerable liberty and popular independence was as 
intense and intrepid as it was invincible. It is apparent, 
when we look on the map of North America, that we did 
not capture all the continent, and as we glance at the British 
possessions, we perceive that the narrowness of the margins, 
by which we were enabled to cover that which we have, 
might have become too narrow for the broad base of the 



OLR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 627 

Structure that is our country, and the mouth of the Mis- 
sissippi might have ehided us as the mouth of the St. 
Lawrence has done. The lesson of our experience in an- 
nexing territory "adding farm to farm" is never to omit 
the improvement of an opportunity to " enlarge the area of 
freedom " — our freedom. 

We never had occasion to regret the acquisition of land 
that we have annexed. In the Louisiana purchase we got 
more than twice as many square miles as we took with us 
from England when we organized ourselves to attend to 
our own affairs. 

The rapidity of our growth, the unbounded provision 
thus far abundant for people, and the volume of immigra- 
tion that poured riches, both of labor and capital, upon our 
shores, is displayed in a startling manner in the letter of 
Daniel Webster, Secretary of State, to Baron Hulsemann, in 
which the grand, old Secretary boasted that we had twenty- 
five millions of citizens, and that we should soon surpass 
the Austrian Empire in population ! 

Now we have three times the number Daniel Webster 
took pride in, and the foreigners who have landed here and 
made their homes with us and become Americanized by the 
mighty chemistry of the political atmosphere, joined to the 
potency of our soil and climate and institutions, so that the 
nativism that has occasionally been conspicuously ultra 
and active, providing instructive episodes, loses strength as 
the percentage of the native-born increases. 

It is the annexation of continental land that has made the 
United States of to-day possible. Without this policy of 
prophecy and materialization of ambition, as traced through 
the chapters of this " Book of the Episodes of American 
History," and that too closely related to our affairs to be 
ignored, we would not be in the front-line position we have 



628 OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 

attained among the nations, but cornered between the 
Alleghenies and the Atlantic, with Florida as Spanish as 
Cuba was; the mouth of the Mississippi and the vast valley 
itself the possession of some European power; the slope 
to the Pacific Mexican or British, and Texas, the France of 
America, dominating the Gulf of Mexico, the American 
Mediterranean, an independent republic or an invaluable 
colony under the protection of some sovereign beyond the 
seas, our place must have been, at best, that of a very 
respectable second-class power. We would not have been 
bounded west and east by oceans, and north and south 
by the Greater Lakes, and the most excellently environed 
Gulf of the globe. The masterful position we hold was 
hardly within the range of our own vision until, forced 
into war with Spain, to relieve the greatest, richest and 
fairest of American islands from the corrupt, cruel, and 
barbarous oppression, most inhuman, perverse, and re- 
morseless, we sent a fleet from Hong Kong to add 
glory to our arms at Manila, and reinforced our pioneer 
ships from our shore of the Pacific, at the same time mus- 
tering squadrons in the ports of the peninsula and keys of 
Florida to blockade contested Cuba, the trap, baited with 
sugar, tobacco and customs-houses, in which the Spanish 
army was beleaguered. We have gone as far as we can on 
the continent, without unduly crowding our neighbors, 
whose friendliness we are profoundly interested in pre- 
serving and making more cordial, and fuller of sympathy 
than it has been. We have gained, partly in war and partly 
in peace, the land once belonging to Mexico that is most 
convenient and profitable to us and of least importance to 
Mexicans. Her bulk was in the way of our march of des- 
tiny, and it was no dishonor for her to part with a portion of 
her patrimony not vital to her nationality, and we bought 



OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 629 

a great deal of it, paying a fair price. We can hardly 
say that our gain was her loss, for while unquestionably we 
were great gainers, her loss was not considerable, did n*ot 
abate the energy or break the spirit of her people. Indeed, 
we seem, through the adjustments of batdes and treades, to 
have found the natural boundaries of the two nations, and 
we should dwell side by side, sister republics, with mutual 
good will. It would be something more than unkindly or 
ungenerous, it would be unprincipled, for us to covet more 
land from Mexico. Some day soon we shall have occasion, 
as our railroad systems are already united, to pool, with 
Mexico, our common interests in a railroad that will be 
grander as an accomplishment of Americans of North and 
South and Central Americas than the Russian road through 
Siberia, connecting with a highway of steel northern Europe 
and Asia, from the Baldc to the Yellow Sea. 

We mean a road that, beginning in Alaska, shall pass 
through British Columbia and our Pacific States and 
Mexico, and the more Central American States — the 
Isthmus of Darien — and penetrate the Andes, and fork in 
the heart of South America, strike the two oceans at Val- 
paraiso and Montevideo. 

This road is the missing link in the union of the Ameri- 
can nations, and will prove of advantage to all in the rela- 
tions of commerce and political association. We cannot, 
with a sense of justice or a calculation of profit, count upon 
further Southern aggrandizement in condnental land. We 
look to the cultivadon of amicable understandings and a 
better appreciation of obligations that are coincident and 
reciprocal with other American republics. Looking north- 
ward, we find, that in spite of the establishment of our 
nationality, the accumulation of landed resources by the 
generalship and statesmanship of George Washington and 



630 OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 

George Rogers Clark ; the commanding genius for accumu- 
lation by Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and James K. 
Polk ; the saving journey of the missionary from Oregon, 
who crossed the continent on one of the grandest missions 
any citizen has conceived and performed — the British Em- 
pire holds, in a firm grasp, a gigantic share of the continents, 
and we more and more highly estimate the value of those 
northern fields on which the sun makes up for long absence 
in winter with long shining in summer ; the long, far- 
slanting, living sunlight, doing the work in weeks, that in 
lower latitudes requires the ripening rays of lingering 
months ; and we put also in the catalogue of possessions, 
as the earth grows smaller and is flattened faster towards 
the poles, not only the golden wheat-fields, but the forests 
that are the timber resources of ancient peoples, brought 
at last within reach by the marvels of modern trans- 
portation. 

The rivers, lakes and bays, peopled with incredible 
swarms of countless millions of food-fishes, the game that 
gives hunters the reputation of heroes, and the mines that 
are stored with almost all the minerals found essential to 
civilization, including gold that has made the Klondike a 
word that has the significance of California half a century 
ago, and guarantees the labor of mankind and the capital 
whose activity aids in industrial enterprise, against the 
scarcity of the metal that is most approved in money 
centres as the money that has the better qualifications. 
England's enormous American empire is our northern 
border land ; but the thought of it no longer oppresses 
enlightened Americans, and we have ceased to regard, as 
menacing, the military and naval stations of Great Britain 
on the North Pacific, the north and south Atlantic and the 
Caribbean sea. England is our friend, if we care to take 




GOV. BLACK REVIEWING NEW YORK TROOPS. 




GOV. HASTINGS ADMINISTERING OATH TO THE SIXTEENTH I'ENNA. VOLS. 




CAMP LIFE DURING THE WAR. 



ObR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 6- 

up the sword and scepter of empire. She has asked our 
sympathy in the issue raised in China by the order of mili- 
tary possession in the slowly declining and crumbling 
Chinese empire, displayed by Russia, Germany and France. 
The British sentiment as to China is legitimately based 
upon commercial supremacy. American statesmanship 
will not fail to respond to the friendliness of Great Britain. 
It comes opportunely. Our politics will lack statesmanship 
if it misses the comprehension of the auspicious conditions 
that prevail. We could hardly find, if we had our choice 
among nations, neighbors better disposed than Canada and 
Mexico. England has respected our claim upon Hawaii, 
and has given the potency of her ponderous inertia in 
opposition to the intervention — by the powers that counte- 
nanced and promoted the recent crushing of Greece by 
Turkey — in the war between our country and Spain. 
Lord Salisbury characterizes the nations of the earth, with 
reference apparently to our relations with Spain, as the 
living and the dead. The progressive development and 
decay of peoples and powers goes on with the regularity 
of the processions of the seasons and the planets. There 
are those that live and prosper, and those that perish. 
Spain was great and has declined by and because oC her 
colonies, and if she has a future of better days, it will be 
because the system so fatal through centuries, for her 
children and herself, is no more. Her health will be found 
in home rule and industries, and the application within the 
peninsula of the labors of her people on their native soil. 
She may be wise enough, some day, to take pride in the 
republics whose language, literature and traditions are her 
own. That is her best hope. The Spain that was arrogant 
in colonization, cruel in conquest and fierce in bigotry, 
must be no more before there can happen the benign 



634 OLR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 

change of brighter temper and better times. We may, 
with confidence, anticipate that England will welcome us to 
Eastern Asia. With the Philippines in our possession, we 
must have sympathy with England in her contention for 
open ports in China ; and Japan will see in us, since we 
added Hawaii, with these archipelagoes in the Pacific, the 
Aleutian, Hawaiian and the Philippines at our side, that we 
have become, as Lord Beaconsfield said England was, " a 
great Asiatic power." 

When William H. Seward and Charles Sumner became 
responsible for the public opinion of their country for the 
purchase of Alaska, they were advancing" on the right line, 
and in the lofty spirit of John Adams, who refused to give 
up the Ohio country to Great Britain, and they should 
share in the honors, forever due, those who have added land 
to the republic. They invaded the Arctic Zone and found 
there wealth for the generations of Americans to come, 
rivalling the endowment of the Indies, and gifted, too, with a 
stern beauty, not fatal as that of softer airs and fairer skies, 
but swelling to majesty with the opulence that nature yields 
to the hardy tribes of the sea and the mountains, and 
mighty streams that flow like Alf, the sacred river that ran 
" through channels measureless by man." 

The American leaders of to-day will be equal to the oc 
casion of accepting the opportunity of the age for the en- 
largement of the house the fathers built. The wings that 
have been added exceed, by far, the original plans, but the 
architecture is the same. If we should find islands in the 
tropics of America — according to the attractions of our in- 
stitutions, energetic with liberty and radiant with glory, as 
they are, the taking of the goods the gods have provided 
would be in accord with the constitution and the higrher 
laws that harmonize the universe, and the stately prece- 



OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 635 

cedents that are the monumental testimony of the states- 
manship that through the generations of American citizens 
has enlarged the domain of the republic, and expanded the 
area of the freedom that is the fruitfulness of orderly 
liberty. 

One of the groups of islands still belonging to Spain, is 
the Canaries, on the north-western coast of Africa, and it 
would be an excellent position for us to hold near the en- 
trance to the Mediterranean of the Old World. We have, 
in the Gulf of Mexico, our own central sea, and Cuba is 
the commanding island, intruding between Florida and Yu- 
catan, and whether the waters of the Mississippi go to the 
ocean by the gulf stream or the Caribbean sea, they wash 
the shores of the beautiful island. As we add Cuba and 
Porto Rico to our annexed territories, we give Spain the 
one thing needful for her, the long-lost privilege of taking 
care of herself unembarrassed by colonies, that under her 
horrible system must be her enemies, and we make provis- 
ion for the future Americans, of islands in African and 
Asiatic waters, and all the continents and zones north of 
the equator will yield us tribute. The American people 
will now have the beauties of all the climates and fruits of 
every tree that blooms for man, and the oceans will be res- 
ervoirs stored with fishes and highways for our ships, the 
Arctic and tropical forests flourishing on our own soil will 
yield their treasures of timber for our handiwork. The 
mountains, from Hawaii to the Philippines, and from Cuba 
and Hawaii to Alaska, will be as warehouses for the min- 
erals for the coming time, which the drills shall reveal at 
depths hitherto unapproachable, and high explosives shall 
cleave the rocks that were once invulnerable, and reveal 
the amazing possession, the abounding globe contains for 
transformation by the science and labor of our race for ele- 



636 OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 

vation and advancement. This is the ample promise that 
the seed of the righteous shall not want. Already the 
railroads have opened new and immeasurable wheatfields 
that white bread shall be the food of mankind. Once it 
was the sublimity of boastfulness to say, " No pent up 
Utica contracts our powers. The whole boundless conti- 
nent is ours." We have not the whole continent under 
our feet, but the grandest breadth of goodland on earth, 
the property of our people. Imperial as is the domain, we 
have discovered that there are lines that limit us, and that 
if we have inherited the forethought of the fathers we must 
seek our share of the islands that are embraced by the 
seas, traversed now by swift steamers and made familiar, 
while there are wires spun through the mighty waters, from 
capital to capital. In the annexation of islands we are but 
conforming to the customs of the days in which we live. 
The whole world is wakeful to the voice of the millions 
calling for more land, for the enlightened nations, that the 
banners of civilization shall be borne forward triumphantly. 
The darkness that has brooded so long is chased away by 
the morning light, to which we must turn our faces uplifted 
to the exalted ideas that are the guiding stars of humanity. 
The deep interests of the living nations, that are the 
greater people organized, in their colonies, is not pheno- 
menal. It is evolved that the conquest of the barbarism, 
that still shadows so great a proportion of the earth, will 
be completed with the aid of the inventions that have more 
and more made man the master of nature and penetrated 
the mysteries of the regions that have so long awaited ex- 
ploration. Only the fallen empires now fail to seek colonies. 
The instinct of the expansion of nations is evidence of 
vitality. Russia is subjugating Siberia with a railroad and 
seeking open gates to all the seas. Ports below the iron 



OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 637 

line of frost, on the Pacific ; on the Persian Gulf, that opens 
upon the eastern Indies ; in the Mediterranean ; in the 
ocean that reaches from her northern border to the coast, 
where the rocks of Norway loom above the waste of 
waves, where the narrowing parallels of longitude define 
the contracting shape of our planet, and Asia, Europe and 
America are contracted upon a common centre. England 
has already surrounded the earth with her lands and her 
navy rides all the seas. Germany and France are eager 
for the absorption of Africa. China, Spain and Turkey are 
in decadence, and, as their fragments fall, they drift to the 
living nations and are vitalized. These are times of changes 
of transition. What have we, of the United States, to do, 
and what are we to be ? Shall we emulate the fathers 
whose principles declared in precept and by example are 
the sources of our greatness ? Shall we pause and accept 
the doom of the inert? Shall we be submissive to the 
theory that we shall grow no more ? If we do, that day we 
commence to decline. It is not true that there is, in our 
system of government, no place for perpetual territories ; 
that we must be all states. The proposition that we are 
states or nothing might stand if we were a confederacy. 
We are a nation. Not one of the colonizing nations has a 
system for the government of colonies equal, for that pur- 
pose, to our territorial form of rule and regulation. "We 
may," as Ex-President Harrison says in his book, 'This 
Country of Ours ' "give consideration to the quality as well 
as the quantity of the inhabitants of a territory." We may add 
that this is something we not only may, but must do. There 
is no reason assignable and satisfactory why we should 
not have, and hold forever, Hawaii, Cuba, Porto Rico, the 
Ladrones, the Philippines, perpetually as territories, admit- 
ting them as states if ever, only when evidence of compe- 



638 OUR INTERNATIONAL POLICY. 

tent Apiericanization would guarantee this course. Fore- 
most in entering into statehood under this condition would 
be Cuba. As for the islands coming to us they would be, 
to our young men, what India is to the young men of Great 
Britain, lands of adventure, of enterprise, of promise of the 
supreme happiness that inspires, prepares and broadens 
manhood, gives us a new mission to walk abroad through- 
out the earth and preach our gospel to every people. We 
are of the mighty nations. Destiny has assigned duties. 
Our place is in the history that is to be, as it is on the map 
of the world, that of the Dominant power in the Americas, 
and if there are islands that belong to, and are protected 
by us over the seas and far away, there is the proclamation 
that a republic can be, in the greatest meaning of the word, 
imperial, and in height, significance, beneficent, glorious and 
potential beyond the scope of monarchies ; — Rulers, ex- 
ceeding kings in prerogative, as government by the people 
has a strength exceeding monarchies for no dynasty Is so 
defended as that of the sovereignty of the majority, and no 
diviner right than the rights of man. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

THE PARIS CONFERENCE AND THE TREATY OF PEACE. 

Provisions of the Peace Protocol — Object of the War — America' s Alternative 
— Spain Protests to our Occupation of the Philippines — Instructions to 
the Commissioners — Opening of the Peace Conference — Message of 
President McKinley to the President of France — Spanish Commis- 
sioners Staggered by our Demands — Threaten to Break Off Negotiations 
— Arbitration Proposed — Final Demands of the American Commis- 
sioners — Spain's Last Appeal to Europe — The Acceptance of Our 
Terms Under Protest — The Treaty of Peace — The Work of Our 
Commissioners — Other Peace Treaties — The President's Message — Its 
Effect on the Spaniards. 

The Peace Protocol under which hostilities between the 
United States and Spain came to an end, provided for the 
immediate withdrawal of the Spanish troops from Cuba, 
Porto Rico, and the other Spanish Islands in the West 
tndies. 

By the surrender of Santiago earlier arrangements had 
been made for the transportation, to Spain, of the Spanish 
Army stationed there. Santiago had already become, de 
facto, an American possession. 

President McKinley promptly appointed the American 
members of the two evacuation boards, to meet the Spanish 
members, and arrange for the prompt delivery of Porto 
Rico and Cuba to the United States military authorities. 

In Porto Rico it was only a question of a few weeks, 
occupied in transporting back to the Peninsula the Spanish 
troops located there, before the American Hag could be 
raised on the Island. This occurred on October i8th. 

At Havana the case was decidedly different. Spain 

639 



640 PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREATY OF PEACE. 

showed a tendency to hold on to the Island of Cuba until 
after the Peace Commissioners, at Paris, had completed 
their work and .signed the Treaty. 

The distinct object of the war from the beginning was 
to expel the Spaniards from Cuba. They, of course, 
expected to lose the Island, but they also knew that if 
they chose to make resistance they could involve the 
United States in a bloody and costly campaign. They 
apparently had no intention of provoking a renewal of 
hostilities, yet they undoubtedly instructed General Blanco 
and their other high officials, in Cuba, to yield little or no 
ground until the Paris Treaty had been signed, expecting 
thereby to bring pressure on the United States to possibly 
force a few concessions. 

One of the main points on which the Spanish Commis- 
sioners insisted most strenuously was the Cuban Debt. 
There was also a controversy over the disposition of 
artillery and other munitions of war, in Cuba, and of the 
floating dock in the Harbor of Havana. Other conten- 
tions were over Spanish Property rights in public buildings 
in Cuba. The most serious and difficult contention, how- 
ever, was the question of the disposition of the Philippine 
Islands. The Spanish fleet being annihilated, and the 
Philippine insurgents being determined, under no circum- 
stances, to submit to a re-establishment of Spanish rule, 
there was nothing left to the juridical question of sover- 
eignty rights. The argument on the part of the Spanish 
Commissioners was that Spain had lost none of her prestige 
in the Philippines. The Spaniards were seriously opposed 
to relinquishing sovereignty, and several times threatened 
to break off the neo-otiations. 

If the United States Government could have been 
assured that the remaining islands of the Philippine group 



PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREATY OF PEACE. 64 1 

would be properly governed, our Peace Commissioners 
would not have insisted on the retention of more than the 
Island of Luzon, including the City of Manila. There was 
not a sufficient guarantee, however, to assure a safe and 
stable government over any part of the Philippines not 
yet under American protection, and it was therefore impos- 
sible to take any other course than to annex the whole 
group. 

The Spanish Government had given its Commissioners 
very precise instructions. They were to do their utmost 
to have it admitted that there could be no disputing the 
rights of Spanish sovereignty over Manila, the Island of 
Luzon, the whole of the Philippine group and the rest of 
her Oriental possessions, outside of the naval station which 
Spain would cede to the United States in the Ladrones. 

The American Commissioners, however, received from 
President McKinley instructions from which they could 
not depart. They were as follows : 

1 . Spain must cede absolute sovereignty over the whole 
Island of Luzon. 

2. The other Islands of the Archipelago will be replaced 
under the Dominion of Spain, on condition that a liberal 
government is accorded to the inhabitants. 

3. Complete separation of Church and State in the 
Philippines. 

4. Spain cannot cede any other Islands in the group to 
any foreign power without the consent of the United 
States. 

5. The United States shall enjoy, for all time, the same 
commercial privileges as the most favored nations, not 
excepting Spain herself. 

The American Commissioners arrived at Paris Sep- 



642 PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREA TY OF PEA CE. 

tember 26th, and on the following day held a private 
meeting to arrange all matters of detail; 

On the same day the Commissioners of Spain put in an 
appearance at the gay Metropolis, and preparations were 
made for the prompt opening of the Peace Conference 
October ist. 

On the occasion of the presentation of the American 
Peace Commissioners to the President of France, the 
following friendly message from President McKinley was 
presented to the French Executive: 

" On this occasion when the Commissions of the United States and Spain 
are about to assemble at the capital of France to negotiate Peace, and when 
the Representatives of this Government are receiving the hospitality and good 
will of the Republic, I beg to tender you my most friendly and personal 
greeting, and the assurance of my grateful appreciation of your kind courtesies 
to the American Commissioners. 

William McKinley." 

The first, second and third meeting of the Commis- 
sioners scarcely penetrated the surface of the proposed 
negotiations that were to be undertaken. 

The fourth session, however, marked the Spanish pre- 
sentiment regarding the Cuban Debt. 

The Spanish Peace Commissioners also attempted to 
wheedle the American Commissioners into an agreement 
to declare against our sovereignty over Cuba. 

The American Commissioners expressed the purpose of 
the United States to take the entire group of the Philippine 
Islands ; and to assume such proportion of the Philippine 
debt as had been spent for the benefit of the Islands or 
their inhabitants, in public works, improvements and per- 
manent betterments ; and that the United States would not 
assume any part of the Philippine debt incurred by Spain 
for the furtherance of military or naval operations to quell 
the insurrections of the natives. 



PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREATY OF PEACE. 643 

The Spanish Commissioners were staggered by our de- 
mand for the retention of the Philippines. They asked for 
time to weigh the proposition. They were coldly cour- 
teous and seemingly unflinching in their non-surrender 
attitude respecting these Islands. 

During the Peace Conference the President of the 
Spanish Commission, Senor Montero Rios, became se- 
riously ill, which threatened at one time an indefinite 
adjournment. 

The Spanish Commissioners' reply to our demands for 
the cession of the Philippines pointed out that Spain would 
strenuously resist any infringement of her rights without 
compensation. 

The American Commissioners expressed their readiness 
to allow Spain the retention of the minor Islands of the 
Archipelago. 

The Spanish Commissioners positively declined to enter- 
tain any such proposition. 

It was said that the Spanish plenipotentiaries had made 
up their minds, in the event of the United States adverting 
to the Philippine proposition, to decline signing the Act of 
Peace, to break off negotiations, and to call upon the civil- 
ized nations to witness the abuse of force to which they 
would be subjected, and the violation of the provisions set 
forth in the Washington Protocol. Unless some chano-es 
were made in the terms advanced by America, Spain would 
refuse to sign a Treaty, thus allowing the United States to 
seize the Archipelago by force ; and would then lay before 
the Great Powers the statement of her powerlessness to 
resist the ruthless actions of the Americans. 

Senator Gray protested against the attitude of his 
colleagues in the Commission. It was said that he was 
seriously opposed to the retention of the whole Philippine 



644 PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREATY OF PEACE. 

group, and to the proceedings in general, and that his open 
objection was prevented only by his reluctance to be the 
cause of a division of opinion on the American side. 

The Spanish Commissioners had insisted on their own 
interpretation of the Peace Protocol, and objected to the 
discussion of Spain's sovereignty in the Philippines, claim- 
ing that the Protocol only referred to "the control, disposi- 
tion and orovernment." 

F'ollowing is the official text of the Article in the Protocol 
relating to this subject : 

"The United States will occupy and hold the City, Bay and Harbor of 
Manila, pending the conclusion of a Treaty of Peace which shall determine 
the control, disposition and government of the Philippines." 

The Spanish Commissioners held that this did not cede 
absolute sovereignty over the entire Archipelago ; while 
the American Commissioners maintained that the word 
"disposition," in the Protocol, fully expressed the claim 
and right to a total cession. 

Up to this time there had been no money compensation 
offered. The clerical force of the American Peace Com- 
mission was often kept busy during a whole night transla- 
ting and preparing the Spanish memorandums. While the 
translators and typewriters were rendering the Spanish 
argument into printed English, the counsel for the American 
Commission studied it sheet by sheet, making notes of 
records, to be examined, and of law points bearing on the 
questions in hand ; and when the American Commissioners 
gathered for their daily session the Spanish documents lay 
before them in English, ready for consideration, and ac- 
companied by data bearing upon them. No unofficial 
person could get knowledge of the contents of the 
documents presented by the Spanish Commissioners until 
after the sessions were closed. 



PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREATY OF PEACE. 645 

The Spanish Commissioners proposed to submit the 
Philippine clause of the Protocol to the interpretation of 
arbitration. The American Commissioners declined to 
entertain such a proposition. 

On November 21st, the President of the Spanish Peace 
Commission, Senor Montero Rios. refused to continue 
negotiations. At two o'clock on the afternoon of the same 
day the Peace Commissioners again met, and the final 
demands were given to the Spanish Commissioners. This 
note declared that the United States must have the entire 
Philippine Archipelago. For a Treaty cession of the Islands 
the Americans offered to Spain $20,000,000. It was further 
declared that it was the purpose of the United States to 
maintain the PhiUppine Islands as an "open door" to the 
world's commerce. On the terms named the United States 
proposed a mutual relinquishment for all claims for indem- 
nity, national or personal, subsequent to the outbreak of 
the last Cuban insurrection. It also was declared that the 
United States desired to treat on the religious freedom of 
the Caroline Islands, as agreed upon between the United 
States and Spain in 1886 ; to acquire, by purchase, one of 
the Caroline Islands for an American naval station ; and 
to receive the privilege of cable-landing rights at other 
places in Spanish jurisdiction; and to revive certam 
Spanish-American Treaties, as heretofore enforced. 

November 28th was fixed as the date on which the 
United States Commissioners desire<l a definite response 
to these propositions and all other subjects at issue. 

President Rios became indignantly angry at these new 
proposals, and he protested vehemendy against greedy 
aggressions and the "dominant power policy of the 
United States' demands. 

Spain's pride and debts made her formal acceptance 



646 PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREATY OF PEACE. 

difficult. She did not want to openly repudiate her obliga- 
tions in signing- away that which did not belong to her 
and which she had mortgaged. Spain was in great fear 
reeardino- the future of the Canaries and the Balearic 
Islands. It was at one time thought probable that the 
United States would make a demand for at least the 
Canaries. 

As to the American proposition, the Spanish Commis- 
sioners wanted more definite information: "Whether, if the 
Philippines are ceded, America takes them free of all sub- 
sisting rights and obligations or not ; whether the American 
offer, to give Spanish ships and goods the same privileges 
in the Philippines to which American ships and goods are 
entitled, covers the vessels and goods of other nations 
in accordance with the "open door" policy; whether in 
return for the release, by Spain, of prisoners charged with 
political offences connected with the insurrections in Cuba 
and Porto Rico, the United States would liberate the 
Spanish prisoners held by General Tozallo and the Cubans ; 
what previous treaties referred to in the American Note 
are to be revived, and where does the United States want 
landing rights for cable stations, whether in the Spanish 
Colonies or in the Peninsula ? 

Whether the American suggestion, that if Spain will 
finally and definitely accept the propositions, conference on 
other points would follow, meant, that if not accepted the 
conference would not continue. 

Regarding the second question the American Commis- 
sioners replied that, while America will admit general 
commerce free, Spain alone would have the privilege of 
inter-coasting trade. 

In relation to the cable-landino- ricrhts, America had no 
intention of asking for a cable station on the Peninsula. 



PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREATY OF PEACE. 647 

On November 25th the Spanish Commissioners asked 
the Americans whether a proposal to the terms suggested 
would be considered. The propositions read as follows : 

1. Spain will relinquish sovereignty over Cuba, and cede 
Porto Rico and the other Islands of the Spanish West 
Indies, the whole of the Ladrone Islands, and the whole of 
the Philippine Archipelago, for ^100,000,000. 

2. Spain will cede a strong island in the Caroline Group, 
giving the United States the right to lay cables on any of 
those Islands or any of the Ladrones. and will also cede 
the Philippine Archipelago, except the southernmost island 
for ^50,000,000. 

3. Spain will relinquish sovereignty over Cuba, cede 
the Philippines, Porto Rico and other West India Islands, 
and Guam, as indemnity for the War expenses of the 
United States and the losses to American citizens, and the 
two countries shall agree to submit to arbitration what 
debts and obligations of a colonial character ought to be 
assumed by the receiving country. 

Spain further proposed a joint sovereignty in the 
Carolines, the Canaries and the Philippines, or she would 
cede certain territory in the Carolines and the Canaries, 
and the control of the Philippines to the United States 
under a nominal Spanish sovereignty. The United States 
to pay no money on account of such cession. 

The Spanish Government through M. Cambon, the 
French Ambassador at Washington, had protested against 
the capitulation of Manila, before the Peace Conference 
opened, contending that it was invalid because it occurred 
two days after the signing of the Peace Protocol. Spain 
also requested that the customs receipts, at Manila, be 
devoted as heretofore to the payment of interest and the 
amortization of the Philippine Loan of 1897. It further 



648 PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREATY OF PEACE. 

insisted that the United States should compel Aguinaldo 
to release his Spanish prisoners. 

It was thought at one time that Spain would decline to 
continue negotiations and accept the inevitable, the United 
States taking the Philippines by conquest and thus termin- 
ating the differences between the two countries, without 
the signing of a treaty of peace. 

The proposed visit of the German Emperor to Cadiz, on 
his return from the Holy Land, was grasped by Spain as 
an opportunity to bring some pressure to bear in her 
favor. It was the last straw. 

On Monday November 28th, Spain accepted our Terms 
of Peace. It was the last day of the time limit set by the 
American ultimatum. 

The joint Peace Commission met promptly at two 
o'clock in the afternoon. The Spanish Commissioners 
immediately announced the acceptance of the American 
demands for a settlement of Peace as provided by the 
Protocol. 

The Spanish Commissioners declared, that they had been 
advised by their government to reply that the American 
propositions were inadmissible on legal principles, and 
were not a proper compromise, but that all diplomatic 
resources, on the Spanish part being exhausted, and the 
Spanish Commission asked to accept or reject the propo- 
sitions, Spain, inspired by reasons of patriotism and 
humanity, and to avoid the horrors of war, resigns herself 
to the power of the victor. She accepts the offered con- 
ditions in order to conclude a treaty of peace. 

The American demands included the acquisition of the 
whole of the Philippines and the Sulu group for ^20,000,000, 
and it was also understood that the United States should 
have the first option on the Caroline Islands. 




'^'fyy 



i^UiAtA?.^f> 



A'-V/TELAV^ ^^' 



THE AMERICAN PEACE COMMISSIONERS. 




THE SPANISH PEACE COMMISSIONERS. 



PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREATY OF PEACE. 651 

When Senor Montero Rios, President of the Spanish 
Commission handed the reply to the interpreter, the 
document was so short that less than ten minutes were 
consumed in rendering- it into English. This document 
concluded with the statement, that throuirhout the con- 
troversy Spain had the strongest argument, and that as 
between positions so diametrically opposed the American 
offer of ^20,000,000 was not a fair sum ; nevertheless 
Spain desired to avoid any further effusion of blood and 
further disorder and had, therefore, concluded to accept 
the American offer unconditionally, and thus bow to the 
superior power of the victor. 

The secretaries were then empowered to prepare 
the Treaty Articles, embodying the cession of Cuba, Porto 
Rico and the Philippines, and the payment by the United 
States, of 5^20,000,000, for submission to the meeting to be 
held November 30th. 

A good deal of annoyance had been caused the State 
Department by the publication, in the Paris papers, of a 
report that the American Commissioners had largely in- 
creased their final demands, and had added the Sulu 
Islands as a part of the eastern territory to be ceded to the 
United States. As a matter of fact there had been po 
extension of our demands, but the Sulu group was recog- 
nized to be a part of the Philippine system, and was there- 
fore specifically included in the original demand. 

Following is a copy of the Treaty of Peace as signed at 
Paris by the representatives of the United States and 
Spain. 

The preamble is formal and brief. The Treaty itself 

follows : 

Article I. — Spain renounces all right of sovereignty over Cuba. Whereas 
said isle when evacuated by Spain is to be occupied by the United States, the 
37 



653 PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREATY OF PEACE. 

United States, while the occupation continues, shall take upon themselves and 
fulfill the obligations which, by the fact of occupation, international law im- 
poses on them for the protection of life and property. 

Article II.— Spain cedes to the United States the island of Porto Rico and 
the other islands now under her sovereignty in the West Indies and the Isle 
of Guam in the archipelago of the Marianas or Ladrones. 

Article III. — Spain cedes to the United States the archipelago known as 
the Philippine Islands, which comprise the islands situated between the follow- 
ing lines. A line which runs west to east near the twentieth parallel of north 
latitude across the centre of the navigable channel of Bashee.from the i i8th to 
the 1 27th degrees of longitude east of Greenwich. From here to the width of the 
127th degree of longitude east to the parallel of 4 degrees 45 minutes of north 
latitude. From here following the parallel of north latitude 4 degrees 45 minutes 
to its intersection with the meridian of longitude 119 degrees 35 minutes east 
from Greenwich. From here following the meridian of 1 19 degrees 35 minutes 
east to the parallel of latitude of 7 degrees 40 minutes north. From here fol- 
lowing the parallel of 7 degrees 40 minutes north to its intersection with 116 
degrees longitude east. From here along a straight line to the intersection of 
the tenth parallel of latitude north with the i i8th meridian east, and from here 
following the 11 8th meridian to the point whence began this demarcation. 
The United States shall pay to Spain the sum of $20,000,000 within three 
months after the interchange of the ratifications of the present treaty. 

Article IV.^The United States shall, during the term of ten years, count- 
ing from the interchange of the ratifications of the treaty, admit to the ports of 
the Philippine Islands Spanish ships and merchandise under the same condi- 
tions as the ships and merchandise of the United States. 

Article V. — The United States, on the signing of the present treaty, shall 
transport to Spain at their cost the Spanish soldiers whom the American forces 
made prisoners of war when Manila was captured. The arms of these soldiers 
shall be returned to them. Spain, on the interchange of the ratifications of the 
present treaty, shall proceed to evacuate the Philippine Islands, as also Guam, 
on conditions similar to those agreed to by the commissions named to concert 
the evacuation of Porto Rico and the other islands in the Western Antilles 
according to the protocol of August 12, 1898, which shall continue in force 
until its terms have been completely complied with. The term within which 
the evacuation of the Philippine Islands and Guam shall be completed shall 
be fixed by both governments. Spain shall retain the flags and stands of 
colors of the warships not captured, small arms, cannon of all caHbres, with 
their carriages and accessories, powders, munitions, cattle, material and effects 
of all kinds belonging to the armies of the sea and land of Spain in the 

i'hjlippin^s ?m4 GwaniF The piet?§ of heavy calibre which are not field artil- 



PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREATY OF PEACE. 653 

lery, mounted in fortifications and on the coasts shall remain in their places for 
a period of six months from the interchan<,re of the ratifications of the present 
treaty, and the United States may during that period buy from Spain said 
material if both governments arrive at a satisfactory agreement thereon. 

Article VI.— Spain, on signing the present treaty, shall place at liberty all 
prisoners of war and all those detained or imprisoned for political offences in 
consequence of the insurrections in Cuba and the Philippines and of the war 
with the United States. Reciprocally the United States shall place at liberty 
all prisoners of war made by the American forces, and shall negotiate for the 
liberty of all Spanish prisoners in the power of the insurgents in Cuba and the 
Phihppines. The Government of the United States shall transport, at their 
cost, to Spain, and the Government of Spain shall transport, at its cost, to the 
United States, Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippines conformably to the situ- 
ation of their respective dwellings, the prisoners placed or to be placed at 
liberty in virtue of this article. 

Article VII. — Spain and the United States mutually renounce by the 
present treaty all claim to national or private indemnity, of whatever kind, of 
one government against the other, or of their subjects or citizens against the 
other government, which may have arisen from the beginning of the last in- 
surrection in Cuba, anterior to the interchange of the ratifications of the pre- 
sent treaty, as also to all indemnity as regards costs occasioned by the war. The 
United States shall judge and settle the claims of its citizens against Spain, 
which she renounces in this article. 

Article VIII. — In fulfillment of Articles I, II and III, of this treaty Spain 
renounces in Cuba and cedes in Porto Rico and the other West Indian Isles, 
in Guam and the Philippine archipelago, all buildings, moles, barracks, for- 
tresses, establishments, public roads and other real property which by custom 
or right are of the public domain, and as such belong to the crown of Spain. 
Nevertheless, it is declared that this renouncement or cession, as the case may 
be, referred to in the previous paragraph, in no way lessens the property 
or rights which belong by custom or law to the peaceful possessor of goods of 
all kinds in the provinces and cities, public or private establishments, civil or 
ecclesiastical corporations or whatever bodies have judicial personality to 
acquire and possess goods in the above-mentioned, renounced or ceded terri- 
tories, and those of private individuals, whatever be their nationality. 

The said renouncement or cession includes all those documents which ex- 
clusively refer to said renounced or ceded sovereignty which exist in the 
archives of the peninsula. When these documents existing in said archives 
only in part refer to said sovereignty, copies of said part shall be supplied, 
provided they be requested. Similar rules are to be reciprocally observed in 
favor of Spain with respect to the documents existing in the archives of the 



654 PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREATY OF PEACE. 

before-mentioned islands. In the above-mentioned renunciation or cession 
are comprised those rights of the crown of Spain and of its authorities over 
the archives and official registers, as well administrative as judicial, of said 
islands which refer to them and to the rights and properties of their inhabitants. 
Said archives and registers must be carefully preserved, and all individuals, 
without exception, shall have the right to obtain, conformably to law, authorized 
copies of contracts, wills and other documents which form part of notarial 
protocols or which are kept in administrative and judicial archives, whether the 
same be in Spain or in the islands above mentioned. 

Article IX. — Spanish subjects, natives of the peninsula, dwelling in the 
territory whose sovereignty Spain renounces or cedes in the present treaty, 
may remain in said territory or leave it, maintaining in one or the other 
case all their rights of property, including the right to sell and dispose of 
said property or its produces ; and, moreover, they shall retain the right 
to exercise their industry, business or profession, submitting themselves 
in this respect to the laws which are applicable to other foreigners. In 
case they remain in the territory they may preserve their Spanish nationality 
by making in a registry office within a year after the interchange of the ratifi- 
cations of this treaty, a declaration of their intention to preserve said nationality. 
Failing this declaration, they will be considered as having renounced said 
nationality and as having adopted that of the territory in which they may 
reside. The civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants of the 
territories hereby ceded to the United States shall be determined by Congress. * 

Article X. — The inhabitants of the territories whose sovereignty Spain 
renounces or cedes shall have assured to them the free exercise of their 
religion. 

Article XI. — Spaniards residing in the territories whose sovereignty Spain 
cedes or renounces shall be subject in civil and criminal matters to the tribunals 
of the country in which they reside, conformably with the common laws which 
regulate their competence, being enabled to appear before them in the same 
manner and to employ the same proceedings as the citizens of the country to 
which the tribunal belongs must observe. 

Article XII. — Judicial proceedings pending on the interchange of the 
ratifications of this treaty in the territories over which Spain renounces or cedes 
sovereignty shall be determined conformably with the following rules : First, 
sentences pronounced in civil cases between individuals or in criminal cases 
before the above-mentioned date, and against which there is no appeal 
or annulment conformably with the Spanish law, shall be considered as lasting 
and shall be executed in due form by competent authority in the territory within 
which said sentences should be carried out. Second, civil actions between 
individuals which on the aforementioned date have not been decided shall 



PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREATY OF PEACE. 655 

continue their course before the tribunal in which the lawsuit is proceeding or 
before that which shall replace it. Third, criminal actions pending on the 
aforementioned date before the supreme tribunal of Spain against citizens of 
territory which, according to this treaty, will cease to be Spanish, shall con- 
tinue under its jurisdiction until definite sentence is pronounced, but once 
sentence is decreed its execution shall be intrusted to competent authority of 
the place where the action arose. 

Article XIII. — Literary, artistic and industrial rights of property acquired 
by Spaniards in Cuba, Porto Rico, the Philippines and other territories ceded 
on the interchange of ratifications of this treaty shall continue to be re- 
spected. Spanish scientific, literary and artistic works which shall not be 
dangerous to public order in said territories shall continue entering therein 
with freedom from all customs duties for a period of ten years dating from the 
interchange of the ratifications of this treaty. 

Article XIV. — Spain may establish consular agents in the ports and 
places of the territories whose renunciation or cession are the object of this 
treaty. 

Article XV. — The government of either country shall concede for a term 
of ten years to the merchant ships of the other the same treatment as regards 
all port dues, including those of entry and departure, lighthouse and tonnage 
dues, as it concedes to its own merchant ships not employed in the coasting 
trade. This article may be repudiated at any time by either government 
giving previous notice thereof six months beforehand. 

Article XVI. — Be it understood that whatever obligation is accepted under 
this treaty by the United States with respect to Cuba is limited to the period 
their occupation of the island shall continue, but at the end of said occupation 
they will advise the government that may be established in the island that it 
should accept the same obligations. 

Article XVII. — The present treaty shall be ratified by the Queen Regent 
of Spain and the President of the United States, in agreement and with the 
approval of the Senate, and ratifications shall be exchanged in Washington 
within a period of six months from this date or earlier if possible. 

The signing of this Treaty on the loth of December, 
1898, took place two hundred and thirty three days after 
the ultimatum given Spain was adopted by Congress, on 
the 19th of April, 1898. 

The last act of the war was the surrender of Manila on 
the 15 th of August. 



656 PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREATY OF PEACE. 

The Peace Commission met October ist, 1898, and in 
forty-one days the Treaty of Peace was completed for 
presentation to the Senate of the United States and the 
Cortes of Spain for ratification. 

There was some uneasiness at the delays of the Peace 
Neo-otiations at Paris, but it must be borne in mind that 
we had to treat with a tardy nation. 

"Spain," said P>anklin in a letter to Jay "has taken 
four years to consider whether she should treat with us or 
not. Give her forty, and in the meantime let us mind our 
own business." 

Neither the President of the United States nor the King 
of Spain has the power to conclude a Treaty of Peace. 
They can direct the formulation of a convention based 
upon a protocol, and the agreement must then be presented 
to the national legislatures for approval. 

The Spanish constitution provides that no territory shall 
be ceded without the consent of the legislative branch, 
which must be convened before a treaty can be completed. 
On the other hand our constitution provides that no treaty 
shall be binding in this country until it has been ratified by 
a two-third vote in the Senate. 

When the Treaties of Peace were concluded after the 
Revolutionary War the preliminary articles were signed at 
Paris, November 30th, 1782. They were ratified by 
Congress, April 15, 1783. A final or definitive Treaty was 
not signed until September 3, 1783. 

Washinpfton issued his farewell address to the armv, 
November 2, 1783, and the army was formally disbanded 
on the following day. Nearly a year passed between the 
signing of the preliminary Peace Treaty and the dissolution 
of the American army. 

The battle of New Orleans was fought two weeks after 



PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREATY OF PEACE. 657 

the Peace agreement between the United States and Great 
Britain had been signed at Ghent. The Treaty was signed 
December 24, 18 14. It did not reach New York until 
February 11, 181 5. In the meantime the unnecessary 
battle of New Orleans had been fought, as well as the 
naval battle between the United States frigate " Presi- 
dent" and four British ships. Such was the slowness of 
internal communications in those days that desultory hos- 
tilities were kept up for several days, even after the arrival 
of the Treaty of Peace in New York. 

In the war with Spain our army, under General Merritt, 
assisted by Admiral Dewey's squadron, captured the City 
of Manila after the Peace protocol had been signed and 
the order for the suspension of hostilities had been issued. 
There was some ficrhtinof in Porto Rico after the armistice 
had been declared owing to the impossibility of" promptly 
communicating with our Commanders there. 

In the Mexican War the erantina- of an armistice from 
August 21, to September 7, 1847, by General Scott to 
the Mexicans after the Battle of Cherubusco, was prophetic 
of peace, but the formal Peace Treaty was not signed until 
February 2, 1848, and ratified May 19 of the same year. 
In this instance there does not appear to have been a pre- 
liminary treaty, the purpose of which is to set forth the 
general terms of peace and to note items to be settled in a 
final treaty. 

In the Civil War there was no Peace Treaty for the 
reason that there was no recognizable power with which 
the United States could deal after the collapse of the Con- 
federacy. 

Peace Treaties become binding upon the Powers signing 
them from the day of signing, but it is laid down by au- 
thorities on international law that when the war has been 



658 PARIS CONFERENCE AND TREATY OF PEACE. 

conducted on the sea or in distant regions, the treaty 
should contain a stipulation, that captures made between 
the day of signing and actual ratification of the treaty shall 
be restored. It is a principle of international law that 
when a Power transfers, in a treaty of peace, some of its 
territory to the victor, the fealty or allegiance of the inhab- 
itants of the transferred territory to the flag of the con- 
queror is not guaranteed. Under the law of nations there 
is nothing to prevent an exodus of all the people of the 
transferred territory if they choose to go. The modern 
doctrine is that allegiance is founded wholly on consent. 

The President's reference, in his annual message to 
Congress, to the ill-fated " Maine," greatly irritated the 
whole Spanish nation, especially the high officials, and the 
Peace Commissioners ; as it was considered an attack on 
the honor of the whole Spanish nation. And Senor 
Montero Rios vigorously protested, declaring that Spain 
had yielded to superior force, and invoking the conscience 
of the nations against the abuse, of which she was made 
the victim. This protest was for the purpose of record 
and consisted of an argument in support of every con- 
cession demanded by the Spaniards and which the Amer- 
icans refused, some of them pre-emptorily and without 
an opportunity for discussion. The protest concluded as 
follows : 

" But these cessions which we are obliged to make teach 
us less than the insult which has been inflicted on our 
nation by President McKinley in his message. We again 
protest solemnly against the accusation hurled against us 
in connection with the " Maine," and we intend to again 
submit the question to an international tribunal comprised 
of England, Prance and Germany, to determine who shall 
bear the responsibility of the catastrophe." 



CHAPTER XL. 

THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 

The Treaty in the Senate — Its Managers Were Three of the Men Who Made 
It — Considered Secretly in Executive Session — Senatorial Arguments 
For and Against Expansion — Annexation of the Philippines Pronounced 
Unconstitutional and Re\'olutionary — Ratified, Signed by the President, 
and Sent to Madrid — Rev. Dr. McConnell's Sensible Comments — 
President McKinley's Defense of the Administration's Foreign Policy. 

The Treaty of Peace was sent to the Senate by the 
President, without comment, on January 4th, upon the 
re-assembUng of that body after the hohday recess. It was 
referred at once, and without debate, to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations. 

Owinof to the absence of Vice-President Hobart, it so 
happened that Peace Commissioner Frye was presiding 
over the Senate when the Treaty which he had helped to 
negotiate was brought in from the White House, while 
Peace Commissioner Davis, as Chairman of the Committee 
on Foreign Relations, first moved for the executive session, 
and then, after the doors were closed, moved to refer the 
treaty to the Committee on Foreign Relations and that it 
be printed with the accompanying documents ; and Peace 
Commissioner Gray stood ready to support him. 

Thus the three Senatorial Peace Commissioners managed 
the reception of the treaty by the Senate, as they afterward 
managed the campaign for its ratification. 

The treaty remained in the hands of the Committee until 
January iith, on which date Chairman Davis reported the 
document favorably and without amendment. A propo- 

659 



66o THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 

sition was made to have the discussion in public sessions 
of the Senate, but Senators Frye, Davis and Gray all 
opposed this idea, saying- that their experience in formu- 
lating the treaty had convinced them that much would 
come up in the discussion that could not properly be given 
to the pubHc. This united opinion was eventually endorsed 
by a considerable majority ; and, as a result, the details of 
the secret deliberations in the Senate Chamber will never 
be officially made known to the public at large. 

In the meantime, upon motion of Senator Hoar, the 
President was requested to communicate to the Senate all 
instructions given by him to the Commissioners who ne- 
gotiated the Treaty at Paris, and all reports made by them, 
either to the President or to the State Department ; which 
request was subsequently granted. 

Prior to this, various resolutions had been offered in the 
Senate, looking to the eventual modification of the terms 
of the Treaty or to the limitation in advance of some of 
its provisions. One of these resolutions, offered by 
Senator Vest before the holiday recess, declared that, 
under the Constitution of the United States, no power 
exists to acquire territory to be held and governed per- 
manently as colonies, i. e., without the purpose of eventual 
admission to Statehood. This proposition had been elo- 
quently and forcibly combated by Senator Piatt (Conn.) 
in an elaborate and lengthy speech ; and as vehemently 
supported by Senator Caffery, who argued that the govern- 
ment of the United States was inhibited from incorporating 
the recently acquired territory into the United States ; that 
Congress had power to govern any acquired territory 
only with the ultimate purpose of erecting it into States ; 
that people of such territory cannot be held despotically 
by Congress, and that it would be unwise and dangerous 



THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 66 1 

to incorporate into the United States, as citizens, people 
who differ widely in their habits, customs and religion from 
the people of this country. Senator Hoar's notable speech 
in support of the Vest resolution was made on January 
nth, and attracted universal interest. 

On January 7th Senator Mason introduced a resolution 
asserting that " the Government of the United States of 
America will not attempt to govern the people of any other 
country in the world without the consent of the people 
themselves, or subject them by force to our dominion 
against their will." 

Mr. Mason subsequently supported this sentiment in a 
lengthy speech, but announced from the first his intention 
to vote for the ratification of the Peace Treaty. 
'•'" Another resolution, offered by Senator Bacon on Janu- 
ary 1 1 th, was as follows : 

1 . That the government and people of the United States have not waged 
the recent war with Spain for conquest and for the acquisition of foreign 
territory, but solely for the purpose set forth in the resolution of Congress 
making the declaration of said war, the acquisition of such small tracts of land 
or harbors, as may be necessary for governmental purposes being not deemed 
inconsistent with the same. 

2. That in demanding and in receiving the concession of the Philippine 
Islands, it is not the purpose of the government of the United States to secure 
and maintain dominion over the same as a part of the territory of the United 
States or to incorporate the inhabitants thereof as citizens of the United States 
or to hold said inhabitants as vassals or subjects of this government. 

3. That whereas at the time of the declaration of war by the United States 
against Spain and prior thereto, the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands were 
actively engaged in a war with Spain to achieve their independence, and 
whereas said purpose and the military operations thereunder have not been 
abandoned, but are still being actively prosecuted thereunder, therefore, in 
recognition and in obedience to the vital principle announced in the great 
declaration that "governments derive just powers from the consent of the 
governed, " the government of the United States recognizes that the people of the 
Philippine Islands of a right ought to be free and independent ; that with this 
view and to give effect to the same, the government of Spain to relinquish its 



662 THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 

authority and government in the PhiHppine Islands, and to withdraw its land 
and naval forces from the Philippine Islands and from the waters thereof. 

4. That the United States hereby disclaim any disposition or intention to 
exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over said islands, and assert their 
determination, when an independent government shall have been duly erected 
therein entitled to recognition as such, to transfer to said government, upon 
terms which shall be reasonable and just, all rights secured under the cession 
by Spain, and to thereupon leave the government and control of the islands to 
the people. 

The chief contention of the opponents of the Treaty 
centered in the principle that "all just powers of govern- 
ment are derived from the consent of the governed ;" it 
being argued therefrom that the assumption of American 
sovereignty over the Philippines, without the formal con- 
sent of a majority of their dusky inhabitants, would be a 
gross violation of our Constitution and a violent breaking 
away from established precedents. The fact that the con- 
sent of the inhabitants of the Louisiana, California and 
Alaska territories was never received or even asked, 
when these possessions came under control of the United 
States, seemed to have entirely escaped the notice of these 
well-meaning but probably misguided objectors. 

A somewhat different phase of the matter was touched 
upon by Senator McLaurin when, on January 13th, in his 
speech supporting the Vest resolution, he deplored the 
possibility that mongrel and semi-barbarous races might 
be incorporated into our body politic. He said, in part : 

Of one thing I am sure — the American people will never consent for these 
inferior races to flood our land and add another complication to the labor 
problem. To permit cheap Asiatic labor to come into competition with our 
intelligent, well-paid labor will be to degrade and lower our civilization. 

If we embark in a colonial system, it means the inauguration of a despotic 
power in Washington. It means a large standing army that will not only be 
used to rule outlying territories with an iron hand, but that, sooner or later, 
will be used at home to overawe and override the popular will. An imperial- 
istic democracy, like an atheistic religion, is an impossible hybrid. 




THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 663 

Better than wealth, better than "a territory upon which the sun never sets," > 
is the transmission to our children of a repubhc built upon the indestructible J 
rock of constitutional government. ^^ 

/ On January 14th a resolution was introduced, by Sena- 
Vtor Hoar, which called forth much surprised comment. 
The exact words of that resolution follow : 

Resolved, That the people of the Philippine Islands of right ought to be 
free and independent ; that they are absolved from allegiance to the Spanish 
crown, and that all political connection between them and Spain is and ought 
to be totally dissolved, and that they have, therefore, full power to do all acts 
and things which independent States may do ; that it is their right to institute 
a new government for themselves, laying its foundation on such principles 
and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most Hkely to 
effect their safety and. happiness ; and that with these rights the people of the * 
United States do not propose to interfere. / 

This resolution could be considered only as a direct ac- 
knowledgment of the independence of the Philippine 
Islands, althouofh no recosfnized native gfovernment was 
in existence there, and such pretense of a g-overnment as 
had been organized represented only a small part of the 
people on a single island. Its adoption would have been 
logically followed by the withdrawal of all United States 
military and naval forces, leaving the people of the islands, 
native and foreign alike, to the horrors of anarchy and pil- 
lage. In offering this resolution, however, the venerable 
Senator distinctly stated that he had put it in the form of a 
simple resolution, which, if adopted, would not go to the 
House for concurrence nor to the President, and therefore 
would not have the force of law. 

Determined efforts were made by the anti-expansionists 
— led by Senators Gorman, Vest and Bacon, from the 
Democratic side, and Senators Hoar and Hale, Republi- 
cans — to induce Chairman Davis to consent to the adop- 
tion of some sort of a resolution renouncing all intention 



664 ^-^^ PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 

of the permanent occupation of the Philippines by the 
United States, and promising ultimate sovereignty to the 
Filipinos. Many of the opposition expressed a willingness 
to vote for the ratification of the Treaty without amend- 
ment, if such a resolution were first adopted. 

Senator Davis, however, refused to consent to this plan, 
assertinof that such action would at once set the orovern- 
ments of Europe at work to gain control of the islands, 
with the result that the sacrifice of life and treasure 
already made in the Philippines would be in vain, and the 
$20,000,000 paid to Spain would be simply thrown away. 
The Senator further stated that such a resolution, though 
passed by the Senate, would be in no wise binding upon 
the United States, but could have nothing more than a 
moral effect, and that of a character most injurious to our 
national prestige and permanent welfare. 

A crisis was reached on January 24th, when the opposi- 
tion demanded that a day be set for voting on the ratifica- 
tion, stating that they (the anti-expansionists) were ready 
and willing to measure strength with their opponents, and 
did not propose to be charged with delaying the final 
decision. On the same day Senor Agoncillo made his 
third attempt to secure official recognition, calling at the 
State Department and leaving a communication which, 
though its contents were not then made public, was 
believed to be a formal demand for a distinct statement as 
to the intentions of the Administration with respect to the 
Philippines, and a protest against the assembling there of 
additional American troops. 

/ The challenge of the anti-expansionists was promptly 
accepted ; and, in due time, it was announced that the vote 
would be taken on Monday, February 6th. The speech of 
Senator Lodge, in favor of prompt ratification, made a 



THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 665 

Strong impression upon all hearers. In the course of his 
remarks the Senator said : 

If the American people were disposed to tyranny, injustice and oppression, 
a Constitution would offer but a temporary barrier to their ambition ; and the 
reverence for the Constitution and for law and justice grows out of the fact that 
the American people believe in freedom and humanity, in equal justice to all 
men and in equal rights before the law, and while they so believe the great 
doctrines of the Declaration of Independence and of the Constitution will 
never be in peril. 

There is only one question demanding actual and immediate decision now 
before Congress and the people, and that is whether the treaty with Spain shall 
be ratified or not. I have heard no opposition expressed to any part of the 
treaty except such portion of it as relates to the Philippines, and that, therefore, 
is the sole point upon which I desire to touch. In our war with Spain we con- 
quered the Philippines, or, to put it more exactly, we destroyed the power of 
Spain in those islands and took possession of their capital. The treaty cedes 
the Philippines to us. It is wisely and skillfully drawn. It commits us to no 
policy, to no course of action whatever in regard to the Philippines. 

When that treaty is ratified we have full power and are absolutely free to do 
with those islands as we please, and the opposition to its ratification may be 
summed up in a single sentence — that the American people and the American 
Congress are not to be trusted with that power and with that freedom of action 
in regard to the inhabitants of those distant islands. Every one of the resolu- 
tions thus far offered on this subject is an expression of distrust in the character, 
abihty, honesty and wisdom of the American people and an attempt to make 
us promise to be good and wise and honest in the future and in our dealings 
with other people. It is a well-meant effort to make us give bonds to Fate by 
means of a Congressional resolution. 

We must either ratify the treaty or reject it, for I cannot suppose that any- 
one would seriously advance the proposition that we should amend the treaty 
in such a way as to make pledges to Spain, and Spain alone, and give bonds 
to Spain, and Spain alone, for our good conduct in a matter which will be 
wholly our own to decide. Let us look, then, at the two alternatives. Sup- 
pose we ratify the treaty. The islands pass from the possession of Spain into 
our possession without committing us to any policy. I believe we can bel 
trusted as a people to deal honestly and justly with the islands and their in-' 
habitants thus given to our care. What our precise policy shall be I do not 
know, because I for one am not sufficiently informed as to the condi- 
tions there to be able to say what it will be best to do ; nor, I may add, do I 
think anyone is. But I beheve that we shall have wisdom not to attempt to 
incorporate those islands with our body politic, or niake their inhabitants part 



666 THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 

of our citizenship, or set their labor .alongside of ours and within our tariff to 
compete in any industry with American workmen. 

It is for us to decide the destiny of the Philippines, not for Europe ; and we 
can do it alone and without assistance. 

Take, now, the other alternative. Suppose we reject the treaty or strike out 
the clause relating to the Philippines. That will hand the islands back to 
Spain, and I cannot conceive that any American should be willing to do that. 
Suppose we reject the treaty, what follows ? Let us look at it practically. We 
continue the state of war, and every sensible man in the country, every busi- 
ness interest, desires the re-establishment of peace in law as well as in fact. 
At the same time we repudiate the President and his action before the whole 
world, and the repudiation of the President in such matter as this is, to my 
mind, the humihation of the United States in the eyes of civilized mankind 
and brands us as a people incapable of great affairs or of taking rank where 
we belong, as one of the greatest of the great world Powers. 

On January 30th, in response to the formal request 
already noted, the President sent to the Senate the corres- 
pondence on file in the State Department bearing upon 
the Peace Treaty, and it was read in executive session. 
The documents included numerous teleo-rams, letters and 
reports for almost every day the Commissioners were in 
Paris, 

One of the first cablegrams from the President instructed 
the Commissioners to demand the cession of Luzon Island 
only, of the Philippines, and he told them that full sover- 
eignty should come with it. The principal interest among 
the Senators attached to the President's instructions to 
insist upon the cession of the Island of Luzon, and after 
that in the decision to take the entire group of Islands. 
This latter development appeared, from the correspon- 
dence, to be a growth, and the suggestion was made by 
the Commissioners to the President as the result of occur- 
rences at Paris after the arrival there of the Commissioners, 
In his dispatch concerning Luzon the President said there 
was but one alternative : The United States must either 
take the island and assume sovereignty, or return it to 



THE PEA CE TEE A TY RA TIFIED. 669 

Spain ; and of the two courses he preferred the former. 
Spain was from the first unwilling to cede any of the 
PhiHppines, and she made especial objection to letting go 
of Luzon alone. The documents showed that the American 
Commissioners, with the exception of Senator Gray, had 
contended that to take Luzon and leave the other islands 
of the Archipelago in the hands of the Spaniards would be 
to invite innumerable complications with other nations, and 
especially with Europe and with Spain. Much stress was 
laid upon the probability of future trouble with Spain, 
With Luzon under American administration, there would 
soon be such a vast improvement, they wrote, that the 
other islanders would grow more and more rebellious, and 
with Spain's oppressive methods of government, we would 
soon again find that we had another Cuba at another door. 
Furthermore, there would be constant filibustering, and we 
should find ourselves spending millions to preserve a state 
of neutrality, just as we did in the case of Cuba prior to 
our declaration of war on account of that island. General 
Merritt's testimony on this point was cited, and was made 
the reason for much of the argument in favor of taking the 
entire group. 

The President does not appear to have at any time given 
explicit instructions to consummate the bargain by taking 
all the Philippines, but rather, after hearing a full explana- 
tion, to have left the matter to the discretion of the 
Commissioners. 

Practically, the entire controversy was over the Philip- 
pines and the question of assuming responsibility for the 
payment of the Spanish bonds, for which the Cuban revenues 
were pledged. The Spaniards from the first insisted upon 
an indemnity for the Philippines, and the correspondence 
showed that after the proposition to pay ^20,000,000 was 
38 



670 THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 

made, the negotiations proceeded much more smoothly, 
and were soon brought to a close. 

The American Comniissioners appear to have been of 
one mind as to the wisdom of taking over all the Philip- 
pines, with the exception of Senator Gray, who, notwith- 
ing he signed the convention, held out to the last against 
the policy of acquiring these islands. In one notable 
dispatch he pleaded zealously against the policy as unpa- 
triotic, un-American and inconsistent with probity and good 
statesmanship. During this session Senator Gray took 
occasion to announce that the logic of the situation had 
induced him to sign the Treaty, and that he was now pre- 
pared to defend it as a wise conclusion of a most delicate 
diplomatic tmdertaking. 

On February ist Senator Lindsay offered the following 
'joint resolution : 

Resolved, That the acquisition by the United States through conquest, treaty 
or otherwise, of territory not adjacent to and geographically part of the conti- 
nent of North America carries with it no constitutional or moral obligation to 
admit said territory or any portion thereof into the Federal Union as a State or 
States. 

That it is against the policy, traditions and interests of the American people 
to admit States erected out of such non-American territories or portions thereof 
into our Union of American States, at any time or under any conditions. 

That the United States accept from Spain the cession of the Philippine 
Islands, with the hope that the people of those islands may demonstrate their 
capacity to establish and maintain a stable government capable of enforcing 
law and order at home, and of discharging the international obligations resting 
on separate and independent States, and with no expectation or desire of per- 
manently holding those islands as colonics, or subject provinces, or of compel- 
ling their people against their consent to submit to the authority of the United 
States after they shall demonstrate their capacity of self-government, as herein 
defined, the government of the United States to be the judge of such capacity. 

iSenator Sullivan subsequently offered the following as a 
substitute for the Bacon resolution : 

Resolved, That the ratification of the pending treaty of peace with Spain 



THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 67 1 

shall in no wise determine the policy to be pursued by the United States in 
regard to the Phihppines, nor shall it commit this government to a colonial 
policy ; nor is it intended to embarrass the estabHshment of a stable, inde- 
pendent government by the people of those islands whenever conditions make 
such proceedings hopeful of success and desirable results. 

The next day, February 2d, Senator Spooner made a 
brilliant speech in favor of ratification, urging that it was 
the duty of the Senate to legally end the Spanish war and 
forever rid the Philippines and Cuba of even nominal 
Spanish rule, leaving the settlement of all other problems 
to the wisdom and discretion of Congress and the Ameri- 
can people. He said that the inhabitants of those islands 
should not be treated as subjects of a policy of conquest 
and subjugation, but guaranteed all the blessings of liberty 
and independent government, should future conditions 
m9.ke it possible. 

On February 3d, Senator Harris offered the following 
resolution, which he asked mig^ht lie on the table : 

Resolved, That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or in- 
tention to exercise permanent sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over the 
Philippine Islands, and assert their determination, when a stable and inde- 
pendent government shall have been erected therein, entitled to recognition as 
such, to transfer to said government, upon terms which shall be reasonable 
and just, all rights secured under the cession of Spain, and to thereupon leave 
the government and control of the islands to their people. 

At the beginning of the next day's session, Senator 
Allen offered the following resolution : 

Resolved, That the Senate of the United States, in ratifying and confirming 
the treaty of Paris, does not commit itself or the Government to the doctrine 
that the islands acquired by virtue of the war with Spain are to be annexed to 
or to become a part of the United States, and that the difference in the lan- 
guage of said treaty as respects the island of Cuba and its inhabitants, and the 
island of Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands and their inhabitants, shall not 
be construed or be held to be a difference in effect, but that it is the intention 
and purpose of the Senate in ratifying said treaty to place the inhabitants of 
the Philippine Islands and Porto Rico in exactly the same position as respects 
their relations to the United States as are the inhabitants of Cuba. 



6/2 THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 

Later In the day Senator Wolcott made a speech of 
twenty minutes duration, which exceeded in eloquence and 
forceful utterance anythino- that had been said, in the open 
sessions of the Senate, in favor of ratification of the 
Treaty. Without mincing words, he called attention to the 
fact that — barrino- Great Britain, our brothers in blood and 
in the enterprise of universal civilization — this Republic has 
not a friend in any nation of the earth ; and that because 
the government of Great Britain stood shoulder to shoulder 
and touching elbows with this country, we were saved from 
complications which might have endangered the national 
life and prosperity. 

.^ The eloquent Senator asserted that every member of the 
Senate would cheerfully and confidently trust his dearest 
interest to the calm judgment of their eminent colleagues, 
Davis, Frye and Gray, and continued : 

We all know that the interests of the nation were well intrusted to their wis- 
dom and discretion. If they had brought us a treaty taking only a coaling 
station in the Philippines, I would have voted to ratify that treaty. If they had 
brought us a treaty taking none of the Philippines, I would have voted to 
ratify their work. Since they have brought us a treaty taking all of those 
islands, I shall vote to ratify the treaty. Our fathers gave to the Senate this 
important power, with the full belief that there would be no partisans in the 
Senate when matters affecting the general welfare of the Republic were in- 
volved. Within the last week we have been treated to a spectacle which is 
humiliating to every patriotic citizen. Party politics are invoked here in a 
matter of gravity affecting our nation. It is disgraceful, and the people of the 
country will vent their righteous wrath upon the perpetrators of this worse than 
folly. 

Every Senator here knows that the ratification of the treaty leaves to the 
Congress the final disposition of the Philippines. No intermediary resolutions 
are necessary. We have a patriotic duty to perform, which can be supple- 
mented with patriotic duties which we can subsequently perform. I appeal, 
in the name of our common country, for the ratification of this treaty ; in 
order that we may be free from threatened complications, which the rapacious 
and greedy European enemies of this country are planning and furthering. 

On February 6th, all conflicting or emendatory resolu- 



THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 



673 



tlons having been voted down, the Senate ratified the 
Treaty of Peace, as formulated by the Peace Commis- 
sioners and reported by the Senate Committee on Foreign 
Relations, without amendment. Eighty-four Senators were 
present and voting. Six were absent or paired. The 
vote stood 57 for ratification and 27 against, being a 
plurality of only one over the requisite two-thirds. 
The vote in detail was as follows : 



FOR THE TREATY. 



N.W. Aldrich {Rep), Rhode Island. 
W. V. Allen {Pop.), Nebraska. 
W. B. Allison {Rep.), Iowa. 
LuciEN Baker {Rep.), Kansas. 
J. C. Burrows {Rep.), Michigan. 
Marion Butler {Pop.), N. Carolina. 
Thos. H. Carter {Rep.), Montana. 
W. E. Chandler {Rep.), N. H. 
C. D. Clark {Rep.), Wyoming. 
A. S. Clay {De7n.), Georgia. 
S. M. CuLLOM {Rep.), Illinois. 
C. K. Davis {Rep.), Minnesota. 
W. J. Deboe {Rep.), Kentucky. 
S. B. Elkins {Rep.), West Virginia. 
C. W. Fairbanks {Rep.), Indiana. 
C. J. Faulkner {Dem.), W. Va. 
J. B. Foraker {Rep.), Ohio. 
W. P. Frye {Rep.), Maine. 
J. H. Gallinger {Rep.), N. H. 
J. H. Gear {Rep.), Iowa. 
George Gray {Dem), Delaware. 
M. A. Hanna {Rep.), Ohio. 
H. C. Hansbrough {Rep.), N. Dak. 
W. A. Harris {Pop.), Kansas. 
J. R. Hawley {Rep), Connecticut. 
J. P. Jones {Pop.), Nevada. 
R. R. Kenney {Dem.), Delaware. 
J. H. Kyle {Pop.), South Dakota. 

E. O, WOLCOTT 



Wm. Lindsay {Dem.), Kentucky. 
H. C. Lodge {Rep.), Mass. 
G. W. McBride {Rep.), Oregon. 
S, D. McEnery {Dem.), Louisiana. 
J. L. McLaurin {Dem ), S. C. 
James McMillan {Rep.), Mich. 
Lee Mantle {Rep.), Montana. 
W. E. Mason {Rep), Illinois. 
J. T. Morgan {De?n.), Alabama. 
Knute Nelson {Rep.), Minn. 
Boies Penrose {Rep.), Penna. 
Geo. C. Perkins {Rep), Cal. 

E. W. Pettus {Dem.), Alabama. 
O. H. Platt {Rep), Connecticut. 
T. C. Platt {Rep), New York. 
J. C. Pritchard {Rep.), N. C. 
M. S. Quay {Rep.), Pennsylvania. 
Jonathan Ross {Rep), Vermont. 
W. J. Sewell {Rep), New Jersey. 
Geo. L. Shoup {Rep.), Idaho. 
Joseph Simon {Rep.), Oregon. 

J. C. Spooner {Rep.), Wisconsin. 
W. M. Stewart {Pop.), Nevada. 
W. V. Sullivan {Dem.), Miss. 
H. M. Teller {Rep), Colorado. 
J. M. Thurston {Rep), Nebraska. 

F. E. Warren {Rep.), Wyoming. 

G. L. Wellington {Rep.), Md. 
{Rep), Colorado. 



6/4 



THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 



AGAINST THE TREATY, 



A. O. Bacon {Dem.), Georgia. 
William B. Bate (Z><?w.),Tenn. 
J. H. Berry {Dem.), Arkansas. 
DoNELSON Caffery [De7n.), La. 
Horace Chilton (^Dem), Texas. 
F. M. COCKRELL {Dem.), Missouri. 
John W. Daniel {Dem.), Virginia. 
A. P. Gorman {Dem.), Maryland. 
Eugene Hale {Rep), Maine. 
H. Heitfeld {Pop.), Idaho. 
Geo. F. Hoar {Rep.), Massachusetts. 
J. K. Jones {Dem.), Arkansas. 
S. R. Mallory {Dem.), Florida. 



T. S. Martin {Dem.), Virginia. 

R. Q. Mills {Dem.), Texas. 

J. L Mitchell {Dem.), Wisconsin. 

H. D. Money {Dem.), Mississippi. 

E. Murphy, Jr. {Dem.), New York. 

Samuel Pasco {Dem.), Florida. 

R. F. Pettigrew {Rep.), S. Dakota. 

J. L. Rawlins (Z>,?;«.), Utah. 

W. N. Roach {Dem), N. Dakota. 

James Smith, Jr. (Z?^;;/.), New Jersey. 

B. R. Tillman {Dem), S. Carolina. 

T. B. Turley {Dem), Tennessee. 

Geo. F. Turner {Pop), Washington. 



George G. Vest {Dem.), Missouri. 



ABSENT AND PAIRED. 



F. J. Cannon {Rep), Utah. 1 ^^^ f S. M. White (Z'^w.), California. 
J. L. Wilson {Rep), Washington. I 1 against. 

Redfield VKOCYO-^{Rep.), Vt. ) f D. Turpie [Dem.), Indiana. 

G. P. Wetmore [Rep)., R. I. i ^°^ 1 ag^^ 



AGAINST. 



The Treaty was signed by the President on February 
loth, in the presence of his private secretary and mem- 
bers of his family, but without ceremony of any sort. The 
document was then returned to the Department of State, 
whence it was dispatched to the French Ambassador for 
transmission to Madrid, there to receive the last signature 
required to place it in full force and effect. 

Analysis of the Senate's vote on February 6th reveals 
the fact that in this notable contest party lines were largely 
effaced. Old war-horses of the Republican party stood 
shoulder to shoulder with dyed-in-the-wool Democrats. 
This indicates — as every true American desires to believe 
— that all differences were honest differences, and that pri- 
vate or partisan ends were not considered. Time will 
prove the wisdom or unwisdom of our course, from a purely 



THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 675 

selfish and practical standpoint. That due regard for our 
duty as a nation in the very forefi-ont of civiHzation com- 
pelled the assumption of the obligations thrust upon us by 
the treaty, admits of no dispute. 

Discussion of the expansion question has brought out 
expressions of opinion from a large number of men who 
are rarely heard from on national issues. This is espec- 
ially true of ministers. Some of the best arguments have 
come from clergymen, who are usually debarred by habit 
and custom from taking part in the determination of po- 
litical issues. The accession of this class to the debaters 
on expansion has added largely to the interest of the dis- 
cussion and to the information of the public, and it has 
also aided in keeping the debate good-humored and free 
from suspicion of partisan bias. This is strikingly shown 
in the common-sense speech of the Rev. S. D. McConnell, 
D.D., of Brooklyn, in a discussion of the expansion ques- 
tion before the Hamilton Club of that city. Concerning 
the constitutional phase, he said : 

One reason why I have no patience with the constitutional objection is that 
familiarity breeds contempt, and I am so familiar with it in ecclesiastical mat- 
ters. It happens again and again in the Church that when the Church is con- 
cerned with a certain problem, with an entirely new situation which the fathers 
never dreamed of and never could have conceived or provided for, we are 
always confronted with the objection that the fathers did not do so. There 
are always those who are not willing that the custom of the fathers should be 
changed. I have observed, however, that after the discussion is over, and 
the discussion is usually long drawn out, the Church proceeds to do precisely 
the thing that has to be done and the fathers have to take care of themselves. 

There have been a good many learned treatments of the 
constitutional side of expansion which have given to the 
pubHc less light than these few words of Dr. McConnell. 
He brushes aside, with an everyday illustration, the fetish 
that the Constitution is an absolutely perfect instrument 



eje THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 

and made for all time, and that its letter must be invio'lably 
adhered to, no matter what the changfed conditions and 
demands are. The Constitution of the United States was 
not framed under any such delusion, nor was it intended 
to stand as a bar to the progress of the nation. The people 
revere it, but they do not understand that it was made to 
hamper them. 

The "purchase of sovereignty" phase of the expansion 
question was aptly and forcefully treated by Dr. Mc- 
Connell. On this point he said : 

Nor have we paid $20,000,000 for the sovereignty of these islands. That is 
not the way we gained sovereignty over the Phihppines. We never paid for it 
$20,000,000 or any other money, in any other sense. We obtained it 
at the mouths of Dewey's guns. For what now do we propose to give this 
$20,000,000? To buy lands ? Nobody ever thought of such a thing. It is 
given to Spain in our spirit of magnanimity. Although we have the supreme 
right, the final right as recognized among men, and might exercise it imme- 
diately, we say to Spain : As you have expended $20,000,000 for these people, 
we will give it back to you. 

This common-sense view of the subject ought to satisfy 
the conscientious scruples of those who are trying to con- 
struct a bugbear out of the claim that this country has 
"purchased sovereignty" in the Philippine Islands. The 
United States is not purchasing sovereignty in the Philip- 
pines any more than it did in Louisiana and Florida when 
it paid France and Spain a good many millions of dollars 
for those territories. 

In closing his speech, Dr. McConnell touched on one 
phase of the expansion question which has not been treated. 
It is the attitude in which some men are placing themselves, 
and the harm they are doing their own influence. Dr. 
McConnell said : 

I wish the men who have been our leaders in the past could be persuaded to 
take a sane view of the situation now. Men whom we have learned to respect 



THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. (,yy 

as the leaders of reform seem to be standing still, gazing hopelessly at the pro- 
cession as it moves by. They seem to think the whole population wrong. 
They have a right to. They have a right to say so, once, twice or ten times, if 
they wish. But I wish they could realize it would be wiser not to say it the 
eleventh time. We will want men to be our leaders in the problems of the 
future, and they are placing themselves outside of the possible. These men 
are opposed to what seems to be the whole present movement of things. They 
'are doing themselves a great injustice. 

Probably the best defense of the policy of expansion, 
with special regard to our Asiatic possessions, will be 
found in the address made by the President himself on 
February i6, 1899, at the reception in his honor at Paul 
Revere Hall, Boston. On this occasion Mr. McKinley 
said, in part : 

We hear no complaint of the relations created by the war between this 
government and the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico. There are some, how- 
ever, who regard the Philippines as in a different relation ; but, whatever 
variety of views tnere may be on this phase of the question, there is universal 
agreement that the PhiHppines shall not be turned back to Spain. No true 
American consents to that. Even if unwilling to accept them ourselves, it 
would have been a weak evasion of manly duty to require Spain to transfer 
them to some other Power or Powers, and thus shirk our own responsibility. 
Even if we had had, as we did not have, the power to compel such a transfer, 
it could not have been made without the most serious international compli- 
cations. 

Such a course could not be thought of And yet, had we refused to accept 
the cession of them, we should have had no power over them, even for their 
own good. 

We could not discharge the responsibilities upon us until these islands 
became ours, either by conquest or treaty. There was but one alternative, 
and that was, either Spain or the United States in the Philippines. The other 
suggestions — first, that they should be tossed into the arena of contention for 
the strife of nations ; or, second, be left to the anarchy and chaos of no 
protectorate at all — were too shameful to be considered. The treaty gave 
them to the United States. 

Could we have required less and done our duty ? Could we, after freeing 
the Fihpinos from the domination of Spain, have left them without government 
and without power to protect life or property or to perform the international 
obligations essential to an independent State ? Could we have left them in a 
State of anarchy and justified ourselves in our own consciences or before the 



6yB THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 

tribunal of mankind ? Could we have done that in the sight of God and 
man ? 

Our concern was not for territory or trade or empire, but for people whose 
interests and destiny, without our willing it, had been put in our hands. It 
was with this feeling that, from the first day to the last, not one word or line 
went from the Executive in Washington to our military and naval commanders 
at Manila or to our Peace Commissioners at Paris that did not put as the sole 
purpose to be kept in mind, first after the success of our arms and the main- 
tenance of our own honor, the welfare and happiness and the rights of the 
inhabitants of the Philippine Islands. 

Did we need their consent to perform a great act for humanity ? We had it 
in every aspiration of their minds, in every hope of their hearts. Was it 
necessary to ask their consent to capture Manila, the capital of their islands ? 
Did we ask their consent to liberate them from Spanish sovereignty or to enter 
Manila Bay or destroy the Spanish sea-power there? We did not ask these; 
we were obeying a higher moral obligation which rested on us, and which did 
not require anybody's consent. We were doing our duty by them with the 
consent of our own consciences and with the approval of civilization. Every 
present obligation has been met and fulfilled in the expulsion of Spanish 
sovereignty from their islands, and while the war that destroyed it was in pro- 
gress we could not ask their views. 

Nor can we now ask their consent. Indeed, can anyone tell me in what 
form it could be marshaled and ascertained until peace and order, so neces- 
sary to the reign of reason, shall be secured and estabhshed ? A reign of 
terror is not the kind of rule under which right action and deliberate judgment 
are possible. It is not a good time for us to be liberal or to submit important 
questions concerning liberty and government to the liberated while they are 
engaged in shooting down their rescuers. 

We have now ended the war with Spain. The treaty has been ratified by 
more than two-thirds of the Senate of the United States, and by t-he judgment 
of nine-tenths of its people. No nation was ever more fortunate in war or 
more honorable in negotiations in peace. 

Spain is now eliminated from the problem. It remains to ask what we shall 
do now. I do not intrude upon the duties of Congress or seek to anticipate or 
foretell its action. I only say that the treaty of peace, honorably secured, 
having been ratified by the United States, and, as we confidently expect, 
shortly to be ratified in Spain, Congress will have the power, and I am sure 
the purpose, to do what in good morals is right and just and humane for these 
peoples in distant seas. 

It is sometimes hard to determine what is best to do, and the best thing to 
do is oftentimes the hardest. The prophet of evil would do nothing, because 
he flinches at sacrifice and effort : and to do nothing is easiest and involves 



THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 679 

the least cost. On those who have things to do there rests a responsibility 
which is not on those who have no obhgations as doers! 

If the doubters were in a majority there would, it is true, be no labor, no 
sacrifice, no anxiety and no burden raised or carried ; no contribution from 
our ease and purse and comfort to the welfare of others, or even to the exten- 
sion of our resources to the welfare of ourselves. There would be ease ; but 
alas ! there would be nothing done. 

But grave problems come into the life of a nation, however much men may 
seek to avoid them. They come without our seeking ; why, we do not know, 
and it is not always given us to know ; but the generation on which they are 
forced cannot avoid the responsibility of honestly striving for their solution. 
We may not know precisely how to solve them ; but we can make an honest 
effort to that end, and if made in conscience, justice and honor, it will not be 
in vain. 

The future of the Philippine Islands is now in the hands of the American 
people. Until the treaty was ratified or rejected, the Executive Department of 
this Government could only preserve the peace and protect life and property. 
That treaty now commits the free and enfranchised Filipinos to the guiding 
hand and the hberalizing influences, the generous sympathies, the uphfting 
education, not of their American masters, but of their American emancipatois. 
No one can tell to-day what is best for them or for us. I know no one at this 
hour who is wise enough or sufficiently informed to determine what form of 
government will best subserve their interests and our interests, their and our 
well-being. 

If we knew everything by intuition — and I sometimes think that there are 
those who beheve that if we do, they do — we should not need information ; 
but, unfortunately, most of us are not in that happy state. The whole subject 
is now with Congress, and Congress is the voice, the conscience and the judg- 
ment of the American people. Upon their judgment and conscience can we 
not rely ? I believe in them, I trust them. I know of no better or safer human 
tribunal than the people. 

Until Congress shall direct otherwise, it will be the duty of the Executive to 
possess and hold the Philippines, giving to the people thereof peace and order 
and beneficent government; affording them every opportunity to prosecute 
their lawful pursuits, encouraging them in thrift and industry ; making them 
feel and know that we are their friends, not their enemies ; that their good is 
our aim, that their welfare is our welfare, but that^neither their aspirations nor 
ours can be realized until our authority is acknowledged and unquestioned. 

That the inhabitants of the Philippines will be benefited by this Repubhc is 
my unshaken belief. That they will have a kindher government under our 
guidance, and that they will be aided in every possible way to be self-respect- 
ing and self-governing people, is as true as that the American people love 



6So THE PEACE TREATY RATIFIED. 

liberty and have an abiding faith in their own government and in their own 
institutions. 

No imperial designs lurk in the American mind. They are alien to 
American sentiment, thought and purpose. Our priceless principles undergo 
no change under a tropical sun. They go with the fiat : 

" Why read ye not the changeless truth, 
The free can conquer but to save ?" 

If we can benefit these remote people, who will object ? If in the years of 
the future they are established in government under law and liberty, who will 
regret our perils and sacrifices ? Who will not rejoice in our heroism and 
humanity ? Always perils, and always after them safety ; always darkness 
and clouds, but always shining through them the light and the sunshine ; 
always cost and sacrifice, but always after them the fruition of liberty, 
education and civilization. 

I have no light or knowledge not common to my countrymen. I do not 
prophesy. The present iis all-absorbing to me ; but I cannot bound my vision 
by the bloodstained trenches around Manila, where every red drop, whether 
from the veins of an American soldier or a misguided Filipino, is anguish to 
my heart, but by the broad range of future years, when that group of islands, 
under the impulse of the year just past, shall have become the gems and glo- 
ries of those tropical seas, a land of plenty and of increasing possibilities, a 
people redeemed from savage indolence and habits, devoted to the arts of 
peace, in touch with the commerce and trade of all nations, enjoying the bless- 
ings of freedom, of civil and religious liberty, of education and of homes, and 
whose children and children's children shall for ages hence bless the Ameri- 
can Republic because it emancipated and redeemed their fatherland and set 
them in the pathway of the world' s best civilization. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 

Aguinaldo and His Followers Oppose American Annexation — President Mc- 
Kinley's Instructions to General Otis — The Battles Around Manila — 
The Iloilo Campaign — " Old Glory " raised on Negros Island — Attempt 
to Burn Manila — A Last Desperate Dash Upon Our Outposts —Ameri- 
can Supremacy Assured. 

During the progress of the Peace Conference at Paris, 
the relations between the FiHpinos and the American 
authorities at Manila gradually became more and more 
strained. Aguinaldo persisted in the position that he, as 
President of the so-called Filipino Republic, should be 
considered first in authority. He maintained that his 
people, though assisted by the American forces, had them- 
selves achieved independence and freedom from Spanish 
rule ; and, while apparently willing to enjoy continued 
American protection, he demanded official recognition of 
his government, and the right to participate in the making 
and enforcing of the laws. 

The exact attitude of the Filipinos is so clearly set forth 
in the protest submitted by Agoncillo on December 1 2, 1898 
(see Appendix), that further details here are needless. 

The position assumed by the United States may be well 
understood by reference to President McKinley's Boston 
speech, partially recorded in the preceding chapter ; and 
the purposes of the Administration in respect to the Philip- 
pines are very lucidly explained in the instructions cabled 
to General Otis on December 21, 1898, the exact text of 
which follovv^s : 

681 



682 THE FILIPINO REBELLION, 

Sir : The destruction of the Spanish fleet in the harbor of Manila by the 
United States naval squadron commanded by Rear Admiral Dewey, followed 
by the reduction of the city and the surrender of the Spanish forces, practi- 
cally effected the conquest of the Philippine Islands and the suspension of 
Spanish sovereignty therein. 

With the signature of the Treaty of Peace between the United States and 
Spain by their respective plenipotentiaries at Paris on the loth instant, and as 
the result of the victories of American arms, the future control, disposition and 
government of the Philippine Islands are ceded to the United States. 

In fulfillment of the rights of sovereignty thus acquired and the responsible 
obligations of government thus assumed, the actual occupation and adminis- 
tration of the entire group of the Philippine Islands become immediately 
necessary, and the military government heretofore maintained by the United 
States in the city, harbor and bay of Manila is to be extended with all possible 
dispatch to the whole of the ceded territory. 

In performing this duty the military commander of the United States is 
enjoined to make known to the inhabitants of the Philippines that, in succeed- 
ing to the sovereignty of Spain, in severing the former political relations of 
the inhabitants, and in establishing a new political power, the authority of the 
United States is to be exerted for the security of the persons and property of 
the people of the islands and for the confirmation of all their private rights 
and relations. 

It will be the duty of the commander of the forces of occupation to announce 
and proclaim in the most public manner that we come, not as invaders or con- 
querors, but as friends, to protect the natives in their homes, in their employ- 
ments, and in their personal and religious rights. All persons who, either by 
active aid or by honest submission, co-operate with the government of the 
United States to give effect to these beneficent purposes will receive the reward 
of its support and protection. All others will be brought within the lawful 
rule we have assumed, with firmness, if need be, but without severity so far as 
may be possible. 

Within the absolute domain of military authority, which necessarily is and 
must remain supreme in the ceded territory until the legislation of the United 
States shall otherwise provide, the municipal laws of the territory, in respect to 
private rights and property, and the repression of crime, are to be considered 
as continuing in force, and to be administered by the ordinary tribunals so far 
as practicable. 

The operations of civil and municipal government are to be performed by 
such officers as may accept the supremacy of the United States by taking the 
oath of allegiance, or by officers chosen, as far as may be practicable, from the 
inhabitants of the islands. 



THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 



683 



While the control of all the public property and the revenues of the State 
passes with the cession, and while the use and management of all pubhc 
means of transportation are necessarily reserved to the authority of the United 
States, private property, whether belonging to individuals or corporations, is 
to be respected, except for cause duly established. 

The taxes and duties heretofore payable by the inhabitants to the late 
Government become payable to the authorities of the United States, unless it 
be seen fit to substitute for them other reasonable rates or modes of contri- 
bution to the expenses of government, whether general or local. If private 
property be taken for military use, it shall be paid for when possible in cash at 
a fair valuation, and when payment in cash is not practicable receipts are to be 
given. 

All ports and places in the Philippine Islands in the actual possession of the 
land and naval forces of the United States will be opened to the commerce of 
the friendly nations. All goods and wares not prohibited for military reasons 
by due announcement of the military authorities will be admitted upon pay- 
ment of such duties and other charges as shall be in force at the time of their 
importation. 

Finally, it should be the earnest and paramount aim of the military admin- 
istration to win the confidence, respect and affection of the inhabitants of the 
Philippines by assuring to them in every possible way that full measure of in- 
dividual rights and liberties which is the heritage of free peoples, and by prov- 
ing to them that the mission of the United States is one of benevolent assimi- 
lation, subsdtudng the mild sway of justice and right for arbitrary rule. 

In the fulfillment of this high mission, supporting the temperate administra- 
tion of affairs for the greatest good of the governed, there must be sedulously 
maintained the strong arm of authority, to repress disturbance and to over- 
come all obstacles .to the bestowal of the blessings of good and stable govern- 
ment upon the people of the Philippine Islands under the free flag of the 
United States. William McKinley. 

The publication of this wise and humane proclamation 
placed Aguinaldo and his followers in the position of being 
compelled to yield submissively to American authority, or 
else assume an attitude of open rebellion against it. Evi- 
dences of insubordination were not long wanting. 

On January 7, 1899, Aguinaldo issued a proclamation in 
Manila, strongly protesting against American occupation 
of the Philippines, alleging that American promises of inde- 
pendence had been violated, denouncing President McKin- 



684 ^-^^ FILIPINO REBELLION. 

ley's proclamation, and calling on his people to continue 
the struggle for liberty, urging them never to return "from 
the glorious road" on which they had "already so far 
advanced." 

This document, which adorned the dead walls of Manila, 
was signed by Aguinaldo as " Military Governor of the 
Philippines." It was closely followed by a second mani- 
festo, even more vehement than the first, in which the Fil- 
ipino leader threatened to drive the Americans from the 
islands ; called upon the Deity to witness that the blood of 
the "invaders," if shed, would be upon their own heads, 
and detailed at even greater length the promises which he 
claimed had been made arid broken by the Americans. 
This second proclamation was largely suppressed, but was 
thought to be identical with that endorsed and adopted 
about the same date by the Filipino Congress at Malalos. 
On "the same day, January 7th, the gunboats Princeton and 
Yorktown were ordered to proceed to Manila and join 
Admiral Dewey's fleet. 

At this time the forces under General Otis were made 
up of the following commands, viz : 

Regular Infantry : Fourth, Fourteenth, Eighteenth, Twentieth and 
Twenty-third Regiments ; Companies B, F, I and M of Seventeenth Regiment. 

Volunteer Infantry : First California, First Colorado, First Idaho, Fifty- 
first Iowa, Twendeth Kansas, Thirteenth Minnesota, First Montana, First 
Nebraska, First North Dakota, Second Oregon, Tenth Pennsylvania, First 
South Dakota, First Tennessee, First Washington and First Wyoming Regi- 
ments. 

Regular Cavalry : Troops C, E, G, I, K and L, Fourth Cavalry'. 

Regular Artillery : Batteries G, H, K and L, Third Artillery ; Batteries 
D and G, Sixth Artillery. 

Volunteer Artillery : Batteries A and D, California Artillery ; Batteries 
A and B, Utah Artillery ; First Wyoming Battery. 

Regular Engineers : Company A, Engineers' Battalion. 

The total number of men and officers was about 21,000, 




THE HARBOR AND BAY OF MANILA. 



THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 687 

of whom 19,500 were reported as on duty. The Eighteenth 
Infantry, U. S. A., and Sixth Artillery, U. S. A., were at 
Iloilo, as were the Fifty-first Iowa Volunteers until relieved 
by the First Tennessee on February 8th. 

The fleet under command of Admiral Dewey on Febru- 
ary 4th comprised the following- warships in active service, 
besides a number of troopships and transports, viz : 

Cruisers : Olympia (flagship), Baltimore (at Iloilo), Boston, Buffalo and 
Charleston. 

Gunboats : Bennington (at Guam), Callao, Concord, Ctilgoa, Manila and 
Petrel (at Iloilo). The Castine, Helena, Iris, Princeton and Yorktown were 
then en route to join the Asiatic squadron. 

Monitors : Monadnock, Monterey and Monocacy. 

The Filipino army numbered some 30,000, most of the 
commands being fairly well armed, equipped and drilled, 
besides a large contingent of available recruits. General 
Otis occupied the city of Manila, and had extended his 
outposts some distance into the country. The Filipino 
lines lay just outside of the American outposts. Owing to 
the strained relations between the forces, there was con- 
stant friction between the native and the American troops, 
and on numerous occasions active hostilities were prevented 
only by the tact and firmness of the American officers. 

The Filipino soldiery, encouraged by the sullen conduct 
of their officers and the studied forbearance of the Ameri- 
cans, fell into the habit of disregarding the challenges of 
our sentries, and eventually became so bold as to attempt 
to pass the American lines at will, evidently mistaking 
leniency for cowardice. Such conduct became at last un- 
bearable ; and on Saturday night, February 4th, the crisis 
came. 

The first collision occurred near Santa Mesa. All 
accounts agree that it was not the result of any aggression 
on the part of the Americans, but was precipitated by the 
39 



688 THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 

action of the two native soldiers who refused to obey the 
order of a sentry who challenged their passage of his post. 
These two natives advanced to the outpost of the First 
Nebraska regiment, which was stationed to the northeast of 
Manila. As they approached the sentry the latter ordered 
them to halt. They insolently refused to do so, and con- 
tinued to advance. The sentry again called upon them to 
halt, and, as they paid no attention to his order. Corporal 
Greely levelled his rifle and fired upon them. The action 
of the natives led to the supposition that their refusal to 
obey the sentry was part of a preconcerted plan to provoke 
a conflict. 

No sooner had the sentry fired than the Filipinos who 
were occupying blockhouse No. 7 fired a gun, which was 
evidently a signal for an attack to be made on the Ameri- 
cans. The Nebraska regiment was encamped in the vicin- 
ity of the outpost where the shooting occurred, and it was 
upon this regiment that the first attack was made. 

Immediately after the firing of the signal gun, the Fili- 
pinos moved against the Nebraskans, but they were not 
prepared for the reception they got. They evidently 
thought that they would take the Americans by surprise ; 
but in this they were grievously disappointed, finding that 
our troops were ready for any contingency. 

The fighting spread on both sides until there was exten- 
sive firing going on at all the outposts. Our troops, who 
had been expecting trouble, were glad to have an oppor- 
tunity to square accounts with the natives, whose insolence 
of late had become intolerable. They responded with 
alacrity and vigor to the fire of the Filipinos, which was 
heavy. The enemy occupied the trenches that they had 
been digging for some time past in plain view of the 
Americans, much to the disgust of the latter. 



THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 689 

The battle of Saturday night and Sunday took place 
along a line starting about seven miles north of the citadel 
of Manila and four miles beyond the northern suburbs of 
the modern city, and extending southerly a distance of 
nine miles. Caloocan, the extreme left of the Ameri- 
can line, is situated almost directly on Manila Bay, six 
miles north of the mouth of the Pasig river. It is a place 
of ten thousand population, and is a trifle less than half 
way by the railroad between Manila and the city of Bula- 
can, where Aguinaldo had his headquarters. Bulacan 
possesses over two thousand stone houses, and was 
formerly the residence of the provincial authority. 

The country to the north and south of Manila is almost 
absolutely flat, giving an excellent opportunity for a naval 
force in the bay to co-operate with an army on the land. 
In this instance, Admiral Dewey displayed his usual tact 
and strategy by immediately moving his flagship to a po- 
sition near Manila and directly between that city and two 
foreign warships — the German cruiser Ii^ene and the 
British cruiser Narcissus, that were then lying in the har- 
bor. This act was a quiet but effective hint that the affair 
was to be purely a quarrel between America and her un- 
ruly new wards, with no outside complications desired. 

The Olympia took no part in the engagement, nor could 
Admiral Dewey effectively use any of his vessels until 
daylight Sunday morning, when the positions of the enemy 
could be accurately determined. 

With the first streak of dawn, a signal flashed from 
Admiral Dewey's flagship, and the cruiser Charleston and 
the gunboat Concord oy^e^w^A a terrific fire on the insurgent's 
trenches near Caloocan. Shortly afterward the monitor 
Monadnock, stationed off Malate, at the other end of the 



690 THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 

line, turned loose her ten-inch guns on the insurgent's left 
flank. The carnag-e was awful. 

Shortly after midnight the firing became general along 
the whole line ashore, which extended in a sort of semi- 
circle around the city of Manila, from Caloocan on the 
north to Malate on the south. The Filipinos, armed with 
Mauser rifles of the latest pattern, fired rapidly and wildly 
in the darkness, while the Americans replied with more 
deliberation and greater precision. Then came a lull until 
daylight, when a general advance, aided by the fire of the 
fleet, was ordered all along the American line. 

The natives fought bravely — even recklessly, at times ; 
but, like the Spaniards, they were ineffective. Tons of 
their bullets sped harmlessly through the air. Their shells 
fell short, or exploded hundreds of yards ahead of the 
mark. A tribe of Ygorotes — half-naked savages from the 
wilds of Luzon — were given the "post of honor" at the 
front. These poor wretches, armed only with bows and 
arrows, died by scores under a withering fusillade from 
Yankee rifles and the quick-firing guns of the fleet. 

By ten o'clock on Sunday morning the Americans had 
apparently completely routed the enemy, and had taken 
the villages of Palawpong, Santa Mesa, Paco, Santa Ana, 
San Pedro, Macorte, Pandocan and Pasai ; had destroyed 
hundreds of native huts, and had secured possession of the 
water main and reservoir, a distance of over six miles. 
The First Tennessee joined the firing line at ten o'clock 
on Sunday morning, and gallantly assisted in capturing 
Santa Mesa. 

AIJ day long the battle raged, with intervals of compara- 
tive quiet. The American lines were steadily pushed for- 
ward until, at night, they extended fully nine miles beyond 
Manila in every direction. 



THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 691 

Althoug-h the conflict was one-sided both as to results 
and as to casualties, there were many instances of con- 
spicuous bravery on the part of either army. At one time, 
near Singalon, the Fourteenth Regulars, carried too far by 
the impetuosity of a headlong charge through the jungle, 
were nearly surrounded by the yelling natives, and all but 
cut off from the main army. At this critical juncture a 
strong detachment of the First California Volunteers, led 
by the gallant Colonel Duboce, dashed with ringing cheers 
throuorh the ricefields and cane brakes, in the face of a 
withering^ rain of Mauser bullets, and rescued the Four- 
teenth from its perilous position. 

These same Californians, who were in the reserve that 
day, again distinguished themselves by their brilliant work 
in driving the Filipinos out of Paco. The main road to the 
village was lined by native huts full of Filipino sharp- 
shooters. After they had killed a driver on an ambulance 
of the Red Cross Society in the vicinity of General King 
and his staff. Colonel Duboce ordered the huts to be 
cleared and burned. The Filipinos concentrated in Paco 
church and convent, where they made a determined stand 
in the upper stories. A platoon of Californians, stationed 
on a neighboring bridge, maintained a hot fire on the Fili- 
pinos, but was unable to dislodge them. In the face of a 
terrific fusillade. Colonel Duboce and a few volunteers 
dashed into the church, scattered coal oil inside of it, set 
fire to the oil and retired. 

In the meantime. Captain Dyer's battery of the Sixth 
Artillery bombarded the church, dropping a dozen shells 
into the tower and roof. Company L and part of Company 
G, of the Californians charged into the church, but were 
unable to ascend the single flight of steps leading to the 
story above. After the incendiaries had retired, a detach- 



692 THE FILIPTNO REBELLION. 

ment from the Idaho and the Washinorton reeiments, 
stationed on either side of the building, picked off the Fih- 
pinos as they were smoked out. Many of the rebels, how- 
ever, escaped into the brush in the rear of the church. The 
Americans captured fifty-three, and during- the fighting 
about the church twenty of the rebels were killed. 

Another intensely exciting incident was a charge of the 
Washington and Idaho troops, with Companies K and M 
of the Californians. These commands covered themselves 
with glory by making an irresistible dash through the rice- 
fields between Paco and Santa Ana, effectually dislodging 
a strong force of native troops, whose bravery was well 
attested by the heaps of dead and wounded that were left 
on the captured field. The dead were buried in groups of 
half a dozen, while the latter were taken to the American 
hospitals. It was at this stage of the fighting, and in front of 
Caloocan, that the Filipinos suffered their heaviest losses. 

The service rendered by the warships was invaluable. 
Among the most effective of Admiral Dewey's vessels, in 
this engagement, was the captured Spanish gunboat Callao 
— now one of the most effective small warships in our navy 
— whose battery of rapid-fire guns of small caliber exceeds 
that of any other vessel of her tonnage afloat. This little 
boat is a veritable terror, and on this occasion she dupli- 
cated her gallant work of August 13th, 1898, when her 
powerful battery of machine guns covered General Mer- 
ritt's advance on Manila. 

Another captured Spanish gunboat, the Laguna de Bay, 
did good work for her new owners. She is a light-draught 
vessel, and on Sunday she went up the Pasig river and fairly 
riddled the village of Santa Ana with her Gatling guns, 
killing many rebels and driving many others to seek new 
shelter. 



THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 



693 



To the north and south of the city, where the shells of 
the Charlesto7i, Concord, Callao and Monadnock reached 
the flanks of the FiHpinos, the slaughter was sickening. 
Numbers of bodies were literally torn into shreds by the 
fire from the warships. In some places the shells made 
great holes in the earth, and around these were scattered 
ghastly heaps of dead. 

The American losses during this first battle were 40 
killed and 1 50 wounded. Among the former was Major 
Edward McConville, of the First Idaho Infantry. Colonel 
William C. Smith, commanding the First Tennessee, died 
of apoplexy during the heat of the engagement, while at 
the head of his regiment on the firing line. The heaviest 
losses were sustained by the Fourteenth regulars ; but, for 
every life given up, the Krag-Jorgensens of that gallant 
regiment claimed a score in revenge. The Filipino losses 
were estimated at about 4,000 killed and wounded, besides 
many prisoners. 

The natives in Manila were greatly affected by the dis- 
astrous result to the Filipinos. It is apparent that many 
of the natives in the city had full knowledge of the intended 
movement of the Filipino forces, who were calculadng upon 
taking the Americans by surprise and thus winning a com- 
paratively easy victory, which they thought would put 
them in a position to dictate terms to the Americans. On 
Sunday afternoon, when they realized the full extent of the 
disaster which had befallen them, they were in a condition 
bordering on frenzy ; and it required strong and tactful 
handhng of the situation to prevent an outbreak, which 
would certainly have resulted in the slaughter of hundreds 
of the Filipinos in Manila, upon whom would have fallen 
the anger of the American troops anxious to avenge the 
deaths of their comrades who had fallen under the fire of 



694 ^^^ FILIPINO REBELLION. 

the followers of the treacherous Aguinaldo. The precau- 
tions taken, however, were such that there was no serious 
trouble, and the city remained quiet after the first outburst 
of excitement. 

The plot of the natives was carried out with great 
secrecy ; but General Otis had enough information of their 
plans to enable him to block any move they might attempt 
against our forces. It was not known from what direction 
the blow would be dealt, and consequently measures were 
adopted to make secure each and every part of the Ameri- 
can lines. These measures were carried out in such a 
quiet and unostentatious manner that Aguinaldo's spies, 
of whom he had many within the American lines, were 
completely deceived as to the real strength of the Ameri- 
can positions. 

A pitifully amusing feature of the situation was the 
assumption, by the Filipinos, that all native prisoners 
would be speedily executed. They seemed unable to 
realize that American methods are so different from those 
of the Spanish, and a wholesale execution on the Luneta 
was daily expected. Hundreds of women besieged the 
army headquarters, pleading for the lives of relatives and 
friends. Assurances that all prisoners would be treated in 
accordance with the rules of civilized warfare were received 
at first with incredulity, then with boisterous joy. 

On February 6th General Hale's brigade advanced and 
took the water works at Singalon. Four companies of the 
First Nebraska and a part of the Utah Battery, with two 
field guns and two Hotchkiss guns, met the enemy on the 
hill a half mile out, and a sharp engagement took place. 
The Nebraskans lost one man killed and three wounded. 
Dr. Young, formerly quartermaster-sergeant in the Third 
Artillery, was wounded, captured and brutally butchered. 



THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 695 

His body when recovered was found to have been horribly 
mutilated. 

The Filipinos were driven back, retiring in bad order, 
and carrying- with them the valves and heads of the steam 
chest and cyhnder of the pumping machinery. Later the 
Nebraskans recovered the lost parts of the pumping 
machinery of the water works, which assured a speedy 
resumption of the water supply of the city. 

General Ovenshine's brigade advanced and took Para- 
naque, capturing two field guns. They met with no oppo- 
sition. General Mc Arthur's division advanced beyond 
Gagalangin without loss, the enemy retreating upon 
Caloocan. 

During the day the Americans gained control of the 
steamer line to Malabon, and landed six hundred marines, 
with four Maxims, at Fleet Beach, north of Manila. The 
Third Artillery, on the main road, and the Utah Battery, in 
a cemetery, covered the advance of the Kansas troops. 
Among the important points captured was a strong em- 
brasured earthwork within sight of Caloocan. 

There was considerable firing from the upper windows 
of the houses in the native quarter of Manila during the 
night, but no casualties were reported as the result. 

Next day, February 7th, three companies of the First 
Kansas, under command of Colonel Funston, made a 
brilliant charge against a body of Filipinos who were hard 
pressing a reconnoitering party which was doing duty not 
far from Caloocan. The Americans behaved with the 
greatest gallantry. The reconnoitering party was fighting 
against heavy odds, but showed no signs of quitting, 
though there is scarcely a doubt that it would have been 
cut to pieces had it not been for the opportune arrival of 
the Kansans. 



696 THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 

The party was in a junirle when it was attacked by the 
enemy. After a desperate conflict, in which Lieutenant 
Albert C. Alford, of Company I, and a private were killed 
and five wounded, the enemy was driven back to Caloo- 
can, which was then the strontrest position of the rebels. 
The American troops penetrated to the heart of that town. 

Meantime the liaht draught gunboats were shelling the 
town from the left, while the Utah Battery was putting in 
good work from the right. Their shells set the town on 
fire, and inflicted severe losses on the Filipinos. General 
Otis finally recalled the troops, but the natives, misunder- 
standing the retreat, failed to take advantage of ii;. The 
outskirts of the town were burned. 

The American provost guard at Manila captured nu- 
merous men and women with weapons concealed in their 
clothing. These persons were undoubtedly in league 
with Aoruinaldo, and their intention was to massacre the 
inhabitants of Manila while the native troops were attack- 
ing the city from without. 

On February 8th General Otis cabled the War Depart 
ment as follows : 

On the 4th Aguinaldo issued flying proclamation charging Americans with 
initiative, and declared war ; Sunday issued another, calling to resist foreign 
invasion ; his influence throughout this section is destroyed ; now applies for 
a cessation of hostihties and conference ; have decHned to answer. Insurgent 
expectation of rising in city on night of 4th unreaUzed. Provost Marshal-Gen- 
eral, with admirable disposition of troops, defeated every attempt. City quiet ; 
business resumed ; natives respectful and cheerful ; fighting qualities of Amer- 
ican troops a revelation to all inhabitants. 

(Signed) Otis. 

The next two days were comparatively uneventful, ex- 
cept on the American left, save for the burning of the 
village of St. Roque, near Cavite. The native army, mean- 
while, was concentratincr between Malabon and Caloocan, 



THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 697 

north of Manila, havincr thrown up entrenchments to the 
left of the last-named village. 

The important battle of Caloocan occurred on Friday, 
February loth, and was another brilliant triumph for 
American arms. The shattered forces of the Filipinos, 
were gathered in that town, which is located about a mile 
and a half from Malabon. From here the Filipino chief- 
tain determined to form for a second advance, and he was 
re-enforced by natives from the northern provinces of the 
Island of Luzon, who had arrived too late for the first 
batde. 

Our left was held by a brigade under Brigadier-General 
H. G. Otis, whose command comprised the Twentieth 
Kansas, commanded by Colonel Funston, who had been 
wounded on Sunday ; four companies of the Tenth Penn- 
sylvania, commanded by Colonel A. L. Hawkins ; nine com- 
panies of the First Montana, commanded by Colonel 
Kerster ; four batteries of the Third Artillery, U. S. A., 
commanded by Major W. A. Kobbe ; the Sixth Artillery, 
U. S. A., and the Utah Battery. 

All during the day small bodies of armed Filipinos had 
been shifting their positions and moving into Caloocan. In 
order to cover their movements the rebels opened fire 
during the morning on the Kansas pickets. They were 
hidden in a jungle and kept up the crack of their Mausers 
for about twenty minutes, but without effect. A detach- 
ment emerged from the bamboo as if to attack the Kansas 
re-enforcements, but a well-directed volley sent them scurry- 
ing back under cover. General Otis' brigade was in a 
splendid position, stretching from Caloocan to a Chinese 
cemetery in which stood De La Lome Church, the tower of 
which was used as a signal station to wig-wag to the ships 
in the bay and to the regiments. 



698 THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 

Shortly after noon the double-turreted seagoing monitor 
Monadnock and the gunboat Concord took a position off 
Malabon. By a pre-arranged plan of attack, these vessels 
began to hurl a shower of shells into Caloocan at half-past 
two o'clock. The Monadnock had both of her turrets in 
action, while the Concord, under Commander Walker, used 
her six-inch rifles and six-pounders They did considerable 
execution. At three o'clock the sig-nal was sent from De 
La Lome Church tower for a general advance of General 
Otis' brigade. In two hours our troops were in complete 
possession of the city, and the "Stars and Stripes" were 
flying over piles of Filipino dead, while the remnants of 
Aguinaldo's army were in flight. 

The Sixth Artillery and the Utah Battery opened the 
fight on the land side, their missiles joining in cross fire 
those of the Monadnock and the Concord, and playing havoc 
with the Filipino entrenchments. The natives displayed 
great heroism, however, and stuck to their fortifications. 
They did not reply to the big guns, reserving their fire for 
the troops. 

At 4 o'clock, with staff officers scurrying to and fro carry- 
ing orders, our advance was well under way, with General 
H. G. Otis personally directing the attack. Our line was 
formed in the following order from left to right : Twentieth 
Kansas and First Montana, supported by the F"irst Idaho ; 
and the Third Artillery serving as infantry, supported by 
the Fourth Cavalry. 

The advance of the left wing was made through a heavy 
field of bamboo. As the Kansas and Montana boys 
emerged from the brush they were met by terrific succes- 
sive volleys. Not once did they flinch. Their lines were 
as steady and straight as on parade. Sunday's battle had 
made veterans of them. They immediately returned the 



THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 699 

Filipinos' fire with great enthusiasm, cheerincr as they 
fought. Off to the right came an answering cheer. It was 
from the Idaho Infantry and the Fouth Cavalry. They had 
the hardest time, being compelled to cross an open field 
while under a heavy fire. But they advanced steadily, not 
firing a shot until they reached the Filipino trenches. 

The Tenth Pennsylvania was not actively engaged, being 
held in reserve at the church. Some of the enemy's sharp- 
shoo-ters made their way through a jungle from which they 
could fire on the Pennsylvania troops at long range. Two 
artillery guns were wheeled around, and after several 
volleys of shrapnel the sharpshooters fled. The Third 
Artillery all the while was keeping up its steady volleys. 

Then the advance began in earnest. With lusty cheers 
the long American line started to Caloocan. The enemy 
contested every foot of the way, but was steadily driven back, 
leaving furrows of dead to mark their lines. Their aim was 
bad, while every shot of the Americans told with deadly 
effect. 

Soon the main body of the Filipinos began to waver, and 
the Americans started on the run, firing as best they could. 
Up over the trenches they leaped, cutting down those who 
remained. In a twinkling the Filipinos scattered like rab- 
bits. The Twentieth Kansas and the First Montana 
entered the town on the south and found in some of the 
bamboo houses a body of natives, who evidently hoped to 
eet in our rear. The houses were fired, and the natives 
shot as they ran. Our men entered the town as the 
Filipinos went out at the other end. 

The only flagstaff in the place was that on the small 
house of an Englishman named Higgins. He was not at 
home, but the place was borrowed for the occasion and the 
" Stars and Stripes " run up. 



yoo THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 

Our losses did not amount to much. Lieutenant- 
Colonel Bruce Wallace, of the First Montana Volunteers, 
was wounded in the charge. There were about 10,000 
Filipinos in the battle, including a famous native regiment, 
which in the revolution of two years ago, killed all of its 
Spanish officers and deserted Manila. They were consid- 
ered the best drilled of the native troops, 

Malabon was captured the next day, February iith, 
when "Old Glory" was run up over a town of flame. 
Enraged at their inability to hold Malabon in the face of 
our invincible troops, after being driven out of Caloocan, 
Aguinaldo's savage hordes set fire to the town before re- 
treatinor in disorder to a more remote entrenchment. 

Alive every instant to the obligations of civilized war- 
fare, the American soldiers turned fire-fighters. Laying 
down their arms, they took up the task of extinguishing 
the flames and saving the lives and property of the de- 
fenseless natives. And their work was crowned with suc- 
cess. 

The capture of Malabon began with the shelling of the 
town by the monitor Monadnock and the cruiser Charles- 
ton. Thus, as in the case of Caloocan, the enemy was 
demoralized by heavy artillery before the advance of our 
soldiers. It was a resistless advance when it came, accom- 
plished in the teeth of a heavy musketry fire from the 
trenches in the jungle. Eleven of our men fell in the 
charge, two killed and the rest wounded. But this was a 
small loss in comparison to the havoc inflicted upon the 
Filipino forces. Dead and wounded were piled on all 
sides when the Yankee lads swarmed into the burning town. 

An interesting discovery was made in the building that 
had been used as headquarters by the Filipino leaders. 
In the haste of their flight, they had left behind them, 



THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 101 

amonc. other papers, the plans for a sudden attack, in 
forceron Manila itself, again proving that the outbreak ot 
February 4th had been carefully arranged. 

On the same day a reconnoitering party of the Fourteenth 
recrulars came upon a large body of the enemy ui the 
juncrle near Camp Dewey. The rebels were attacked and 
fell'back upon the main line of the insurgents. The four- 
teenth with the North Dakota Volunteers and the Fourth 
Cavalry, then engaged the enemy and drove them toward 
the beach, where one of the gunboats received them with a 
fusilade from the automatic Colt guns. The enemy s loss 
was severe, and they scattered along the beach, seekmg 
cover from the fire of the Americans. 

Up to this time the Filipino losses had aggregated fully 
. Soo killed, with wounded vasdy in excess of that number 
besides thousands of prisoners. All this --/f ^^^ ^^ 
the cost of 65 Americans killed and 257 wounded There 
were two Americans missing and unaccounted for. No 
fewer than twenty native villages had surrendered or been 
captured. Several had been destroyed, because their 
houses harbored men, frequently disguised in female attire, 
who shot from windows and rooftops at the American 
troops. Many rifles and much ammunition had been 
seized by the Americans. 

On February .5th the First California Regunent, with 
detachments from the Idaho and Washington troops and a 
battery of the Sixth Artillery, had a sharp engagement 
with the enemy near the village of Pateros The Cahfor- 
nians had been annoyed for a whole day by hrmg from 
native houses over which white flags had been raised, and 
their commander decided to clear away the enemy from h,s 

™The work proceeded in a systematic manner, a gunboat 



702 THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 

shelling the villages and working her rapid-fire guns very 
effectively on the jungle, and the rebels were driven toward 
Laguna de Rayo. The natives held their fire, appar- 
ently being short of ammunition ; but they fought desper- 
ately. 

The next morning (February i6th) General King's entire 
brigade was summoned to action to meet and drive back a 
large body of Filipinos that had been discovered on the 
Americans' right, near San Pedro Macati. The enemy 
was presumably reconnoitering, their large number and 
the threatening attitude they had assumed necessitated de- 
cisive action, and after a sharp exchange of volleys the 
rebels retreated, disappearing in the jungle. 

Following this incident, for several days there were minor 
skirmishes at various points, with casualties small on either 
side. Most of the American losses were on the outposts, 
where a Filipino sharpshooter would occasionally succeed 
in killing or wounding such of our men as incautiously ex- 
posed themselves in the open. On February i8th the 
Buffalo bombarded the rebel trenches in front of General 
Ovenshine's briorade on the American rig-ht fiank, and, after 
twenty minutes' firing, drove the natives further inland and 
out of range. 

Iloilo, capital of the Island of Panay, and, next to Manila, 
the most important city and seaport in the Philippine group, 
was taken by the American forces under General Marcus 
P. Miller on Saturday, February iith. 

General Miller's expedition sailed from Manila on De- 
cember 26, 1898, under explicit orders cabled to General 
Otis by the War Department. It consisted of a signal 
detachment, Battery G, of the Sixth Artillery ; the Eigh- 
teenth Regulars and the Fifty-first Iowa Volunteers, on 
board the transports Pennsylvania, Arizona and Newport. 




AGUINALDO AND HIS HEAUoUARlERb. 



THE FILIPINO REBELLfON. 



705 



The expedition was convoyed by the United States cruiser 
Baltimore and the auxiliary gunboat Callao. The latter 
was afterwards relieved by the Petrel, and the former by 
the Boston. The Iowa Regiment was ordered back to 
Manila on February 8th, its place being taken by the 
fighting First Tennessee Volunteers, a regiment that had 
distinguished itself in the bloody batdes around the capital 
of the Philippines. 

On arriving at Iloilo, General Miller discovered that the 
Spaniards, under General Rios. had treacherously aban- 
doned the city on December 24th, and that it had been oc- 
cupied by a native army, whose equipment was much im- 
proved by the seizure of a large quantity of arms and am- 
munition that had been left behind by the Spaniards — if, 
indeed, the latter had not voluntarily turned over this valu- 
able property to the rebels. The Filipino authorities noti- 
fied General Miller that his troops might land unarmed, 
but that they would resist American occupation in force. 
The attitude of the natives was distinctly hostile, and it is 
believed that they were acting under instructions from the 
Aguinaldo government. 

On January 6th, privates Silvey and Kirkpatrick, of the 
Sixth Artillery, while guarding a water boat astern of the 
Newport, were attacked by the natives of the boat's crew. 
Silvey's skull was fractured fatally, and Kirkpatrick fell 
overboard, but escaped with a flesh wound. With this ex- 
ception there was no blood shed until the final attack on 
February 1 1 th. 

General Miller's instructions were to bide his time, and 
under no circumstances to attempt the occupation of Iloilo 
unless perfectly sure of success. The criois at Manila pre- 
vented General Otis from sendino- re-enforcements to Pa- 
nay; so the American expedition to Iloilo simply watched 
40 



7o6 THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 

and waited. Meantime, the insureents were not inactive. 
Barges laden with stone were sunk in the channels leading 
up to the city. Recruits, armed with Remingtons and 
Mausers, began to pour in .from the country. The streets 
were barricaded, and coal oil was distributed throughout 
the city for the purpose of reducing it to ashes in the event 
of an American victory. Outside the city a horde of some 
ten thousand half-naked savages, armed with knives and 
spears, awaited the signal to join the native army in repuls- 
ing the "invaders." 

On the morning of Friday, February loth. General Mil- 
ler sent an ultimatum to the commander of the rebels on 
shore, notifying him that it was his intention to take Iloilo, 
by force if necessary. Non-combatants and foreigners 
were warned to leave the town within twenty-four hours. 
The rebels were also warned that they must make no 
further belligerent preparations. The gunboat Petrel was 
then moved to a position close in shore, and near the 
rebel fort, while the cruiser Boston took up her station at 
the other end of the town. 

Friday passed quietly. During the day many refugees 
left the town of Iloilo. The majority of them were taken 
on board foreign ships lying in the harbor. Searchlights 
from the United States warships were kept all night long 
illuminating the town and its defenses. The rebels, so far 
as the lookouts on the ships could discover, remained qui- 
escent throucrhout the nioht. 

At 8 o'clock on the morning of Saturday, February i ith, 
the gunboat Petrel signaled to the Boston tha<" the rebels 
were workinof in their trenches. In return the Petrel was 
ordered to fire warning shots upon the town from her 
three-pounders. This was done, and the rebels replied 
with a harmless fusilade. The Boston and the Petrel then 



THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 



707 



bombarded the rebel trenches, completely clearing them of 
their occupants in a very short time. Soon after the bom- 
bardment began, flames broke out simultaneously in vari- 
ous parts ot the town. Thereupon 48 marines, acting as 
infantry and artillery, were landed from the Boston, and a 
company was sent ashore from the Petrel. These detach- 
ments marched straiirht into the town of Iloilo, and, hoistine 
the "Stars and Stripes" over the fort, took possession of 
the place in the name of the United States. 

The capture of the town and its defenses having been 
accomplished, the marines and soldiers who had been sent 
ashore proceeded to the task of saving the American, 
English and German Consulates from destruction by the 
fire which was raging among the frail and inflammable 
buildings of the town. The Swiss Consul's residence, 
which was in the same row as the Consulates named, was 
burned. The entire Chinese and native sections of the 
town were destroyed, but foreign mercantile property 
escaped with slight damages. 

There was some desultory firing by the enemy in the 
outskirts of Iloilo, but not a single American was injured. 
General Miller's force had complete control of the situation, 
when the Petrel sailed from Iloilo for Manila to report the 
victory. The Sixth Artillery occupied a position command- 
inof both the bridges leadings into the town, and the Ten- 
nessee Volunteers and the Eighteenth Infantry took 
possession of the trenches that had been constructed by 
the rebels. 

Early the following day (Sunday, February 12), General 
Miller ordered a reconnaissance to ascertain the enemy's 
position. Keller's battalion of the Eighteenth Infantry, 
with two Hotchkiss guns and one Gatling gun, marched 
toward Jaro. Midway between Iloilo and Jaro this battalion 



yoS THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 

encountered a large body of the enemy, occupying both 
sides of the road, who met the advance of the American 
troops with a severe and well-directed fire. The Ameri- 
cans deployed and returned the fire with a number of 
volleys. Our troops advanced steadily, supported by their 
machine guns, and drove the enemy through Jaro to the 
open country beyond. 

The town of Jaro was found to be deserted, and all por- 
table property had been removed. When the Americans 
entered the place there were only a few Chinese there. At 
4,10 o'clock P. M. on Sunday, Captain Griffiths raised the 
American flag over Presidencia. During the fighting out- 
side of the town Lieutenant Frank Bowles, of the Eieh- 
teenth Infantry, while working the light battery, was shot 
in the leg. In addition, one private was seriously wounded 
and two were slightly injured. The rebel loss was severe. 

Major Cheatham's battalion of the Tennessee regiment 
marched in another direction beyond Molo without finding 
the enemy, and returned to Iloilo. 

Thus the second city of importance in our Asiatic terri- 
tory passed under the military government of the United 
States, with practically no bloodshed. The native forces, 
poorly disciplined and rent with dissensions within their 
own ranks, were driven back into the country and are not 
likely to appear again as an organized army. 

The situation at Manila presents some serious prob- 
lems. The city holds a large number of turbulent na- 
tives, who are held in subjection only by military force. 
An occasional outbreak of riot and incendiarism is to be 
feared, though this danger grows less every day. Such 
an outbreak occurred on the night of February 2 2d, when 
the natives started fires in both the Santa Cruz and Tondo 
districts of Manila. Once more the American soldiers 



THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 709 

turned fire-fighters; but a large area was burned over 
before the flames were subdued. Details of British ma- 
rines were landed from the Narcissus to aid the Ameri- 
cans. The belligerent natives blocked the efforts of the 
fire-fighters by every possible means, and several of them 
. were shot while in the act of cutting the fire-hose. Fol- 
lowing this outbreak more stringent orders were issued 
governing the conduct and privileges of the native popu- 
lation. 

While the fire was raging in Manila, boatloads of 
armed insurgents stole down from the north and crept up 
the swampy creeks of the Vitas district. There they pre- 
pared for an attack on the rear of the American troops. 
They lurked at the edges of the creek and amid the salt 
marshes, gathering their forces together from the city and 
the bay, until they were ready for serious work inside the 
American lines. 

At dawn the signal for the attack was given by 
the rebel cannon on the north opening fire on Caloocan. 
The American artillerists responded promptly, and soon 
silenced the insurgents' guns. In the" meantime, the 
rebels had issued from the marshes in an effbrt to break 
the American Une. General Hughes, however, attacked 
them strongly from the city, drawing off" such men as he 
could spare from the police work and fire-fighting, while 
General McArthur pounced upon the enemy from Caloo- 
can Warships in the bay assisted by shelling the 
marshes and the fire-swept edges of Tondo, the Monad- 
nock particularly taking a lively part in the battle. Thus 
surrounded, the insurgents resisted stubbornly, throwing 
up numerous barricades. After a hard fight and serious 
losses the desperate band was cut to pieces, many escap- 
ing into the marshes of Vitas. General Otis reports that 



;iO THE F/LIP/NO REnELLTON. 

500 of the insurgents were killed or wounded, and 200 
taken prisoners. 

Events have shown that the Filipinos are desperate 
fighters, doubtless formidable to the Spanish, but no 
match for the cool and calculatino^ courage of the Ang-lo- 
Saxon. The first trials at arms in the Philippines have 
resulted in an unbroken series of American victories ; and, 
while our ranks have been thinned every day by the per- 
sistent fire of rebel sharpshooters, those of the insurgents 
have been frightfully decimated in every engagement. It 
is probable that the rebel army will not again risk a 
pitched battle with General Otis's forces, but will confine 
its efforts to guerilla-like attacks on the outposts, or an 
occasional demonstration in force to divert attention from 
an attempted uprising in the city. 

It is possible that the Tagalo leader may again 
attempt to force his way into the capital ; but the American 
land forces, backed by the invincible Dewey, are amply able 
to resist all attacks, and, with substantial re-enforcements of 
men and ships to draw from, the American position may 
be considered absolutely impregnable. 

It is impossible for the Filipinos to regain any territory 
they have lost ; and within a few brief months the " Stars 
and Stripes " will surely float over every foot of ground the 
commanding general may deem best to occupy. The vol- 
untary allegiance of the people of the island of Negros, 
offered on February 2 2d, is a hopeful promise of a peace- 
ful solution. While the guns on the city walls and those 
of the fleet in Manila Bay joined in a salute in honor of 
Washington's natal day, four commissioners from the 
Negros Island waited upon Major-General Otis with a 
message from their people informing him that " Old 
Glory " had been raised above that island, and that its in- 



THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 



711 



habitants, having driven out g,ll the insurgents, were then 
ready, wilHng and anxious to accept any proposition the 
Americans might have to offer. 

They also advised the American commander that the 
people of the Negros, as of many of the southern islands, 
have little friendship for the northern tribes, and would 
gladly join the Americans in waging war against the 
Tagalos, of Luzon, to which tribe Aguinaldo and his chief 
advisers belong. To what extent this profession of loyalty 
to America can be trusted, remains to be seen. 

The important island of Cebu also capitulated on Wash- 
ington's Birthday. Its capital city, Cebu, had been occu- 
pied by a small force of insurgents, who fled to the hills 
upon receipt of an ultimatum from Commander Cornwell, 
of the United States gunboat Petrel, which had dropped 
anchor in the harbor. A force of Yankee marines and 
blue jackets immediately landed and raised the American 
flag over the government buildings, which they held until 
relieved by a regular garrison, consisting of a battalion of 
the Twenty-third Regiment, U. S. A., which was promptly 
dispatched from Manila. 

There is reason to hope that the Filipinos, as a whole, 
recognizing the broad humanity that actuates their new 
protectors, will speedily and gracefully submit to the in- 
evitable, and that "the white man's burden" in this in- 
stance may be light. Nevertheless, it is quite possible 
that the spirit of higher civilization may spread but gradu- 
ally, and that generations may pass before absolute au- 
tonomy and self-government shall become possible in 
those charming islands of the Orient. 

But of one thing we may rest assured. No despot's 
clutch shall ever again oppress those eight million souls, 
now committed to our care ; for they have been ransomed 



712 THE FILIPINO REBELLION. 

forever by the blood of American patriots— true heroes of 
a noble race— whose bodies are crumbling to dust in that 
far-off land, where a perpetual Altar of Freedom has been 
established by the valor of the American Soldier and Sailor. 



APPENDIX A- 

PROTEST OF THE FILIPINOS. 

Text of the Document Filed with the Peace Commissions, at Paris. 

The following is the full text of the protest lodged with 
the American and Spanish Peace Commissions by Agon- 
cillo, the agent of Aguinaldo, the insurgent leader in the 
Phihppines: 

Paris, December 12, lSg8. 
Their Excellencies, the President atid Delegates of the Spanish-American 
Peace Commission, Paris : 

Your Excellencies : — The very noble and gallant General Aguinaldo, 
President of the Philippine Republic, and his Government have honored me 
with the post of official representative to the very honorable President and 
Government of the United States of America, devolving on me at the same 
time the duty of protesting against any resolutions contrary to the indepen- 
dence of that country which might be passed by the Peace Commission in Paris. 

This has already terminated its sessions, and the resolutions passed cannot 
be accepted as obligatory by my government, since the Commission has 
neither heard nor in any wise admitted to its dehberations the Philippine 
nation, which held an unquestionable right to intervene in relation to what 
might affect their future. 

I fulfill, therefore, my duty when I protest, as I do in the most solemn man- 
ner, in the name of the President and the National Government of the Philip- 
•pines, against any resolution agreed upon at the Peace Conference in Paris, as 
long as the juridical pohlical independent personality of the Filipino people is 
entirely unrecognized, and attempts are made in any form to impose on these 
inhabitants resolutions which have not been sanctioned by their public powers, 
the only ones who can legally decide as to their future in history. 

Spain is absolutely devoid of a status and power to decide in any shape or 
form the before-mentioned matter. The union of Spain and the Philippines 
was founded solely on two historical facts, in which the exclusive right of the 
Filipinos to decide their own destiny was implicidy recognized. 

First. The " Blood Treaty ' ' (Pacto de Sangre) of the 1 2th of March. 1 565, 
entered into between General Don Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and the Filipino 

i 



ii PROTEST OF THE FILIPINOS. 

sovereign Sikatuma, a compact which was ratified and confirmed on the one 
side by the King of Spain, PhiHp II, and on the other side by the monarchs 
of Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon, and by the Supreme Chief of that Confedera- 
tion, the Sultan Lacandola, proclaiming, as a consequence, the autonomous 
nationalty of the kingdom of " New Castile " formed by the Philippine Islands, 
under the sceptre of the King of Spain. 

Second. The so-called " Constitution of Cadiz," in the discussion, vote, 
promulgation and execution of which the Deputies and Filipino people took an 
active part, and by which constitution the nationality of "The Spains " was 
made effective. 

But from the very first moment in which the peninsular public powers 
attempted to impose their absolute sovereignty on the islands, the Filipinos 
protested energetically by force of arms, and from the first attempt, in 1814, 
the struggle in defense of their political personality was implanted. 

When, in 1837, the violent deprivation of their rights was consummated, 
the Filipinos again protested, sustaining against them a fratricidal and 
inhuman struggle which has lasted from that time forward to the present day. 

Falsehood, which always characterized the actions of the peninsular authori- 
ties, constantly hid from the world the fact of the real situation of force 
which has lasted almost a century. At length, the end of the present century, 
Spanish forces have been completely routed by those of the natives, and Spain 
cannot now even allege the possession by her of the islands, because the 
permanency of a handful of peninsular soldiers (approximately 400), who are 
existing besieged in one or two fortresses in the south of the archipelago, 
cannot constitute such a right. 

The Spanish Government has ceased to hold any dominion by deed and by 
right, and the only authority which exists there and preserves order is that 
constituted by the Filipinos, with the solemn sanction of their votes, the only 
legal fount of positive modern power. 

Under such conditions the Spanish Commissioners in Paris have not been 
able, within the principles of the law of nations, to give up or to transfer 
what, if they ever had, they have totally lost before the signing of the protocol 
of Washington and the arranging of the terms of the peace treaty in Paris. 
The Filipino people, who consented to the " Blood Treaty " and the " Consti- 
tution of 1812," annulled those conventions by reason of Spain not complying 
with her undertakings, and renewed their sovereignty by the solemn proclama- 
tion of the Philippine Republic on August i, 1898, and by the establishment of 
a government and a regular and well-ordered administration, created by the 
decisive votes of the natives. 

If any juridical effect can be attributed to the Spanish action in the peace 
treaty within the principles of international law it is the explicit renunciation 
of all future pretentions over the land, the dominion and possession of which 



PROTEST OF THE FILIPINOS. 



Ill 



she had lost, and, therefore, is only of use to make the recognition of the 
corporate body of the FiHpino nation and that of their rights to rule effectively 
in respect of their future. 

The United States of America, on their part, cannot allege a better right to 
constitute themselves as arbitrators as to the future of the Philippines. On the 
contrary, the demands of honor and good faith impose on them the explicit 
recognition of the political status of the people, who, loyal to their conventions, 
were a devoted ally of their forces in the moments of danger and strife. 

The noble general Emilio Aguinaldo and the other Filipino chiefs were 
solicited to place themselves at the head of the suffering and heroic sons of 
that country to fight against Spain and to second the action of the brave and 
skillful Admiral Dewey. At the time of imploring their armed co-operation 
both the commander of the Pe/nl smd Captain Wood, in Hong Kong, before 
the declaration of war, the American Consul Generals, Mr. Pratt, in Singapore ; 
Mr. Wildman, in Hong Kong, and Mr. Williams, in Cavite, acting as inter- 
national agents of the great American nation at a moment of great anxiety, 
offered to recognize the independence of the Filipino nation as soon as triumph 
was attained. 

Under the faith of such promises, an American man-of-war, the Mc Culloch , 
was placed at the disposal of the said leaders, which took them to their 
native shores ; and Admiral Dewey, himself, by sending the man-of-war ; by 
not denying to General Aguinaldo and his companions the exacting of his 
promises when they were presented to him on board his flagship in the Bay 
of* Manila ; by receiving the said General Aguinaldo before and after his vic- 
tories and notable deeds of arms with the honors due to the commander-in- 
chief of an allied army, and chief of an independent State ; by accepting 
the efficacious co operation of that army and of those generals ; by recogniz- 
ing the Filipino flag and permitting it to be hoisted on sea and land, consent- 
ing that their ships should sail with the said flag within the places which were 
blockaded ; by receiving a solemn notification of the formal proclamation of 
the Philippine nation without protesting against it or opposing in any way its 
existence ; by entering into relations with those generals and with the national 
Filipino authorities, recently established, recognized without question the cor- 
porated body and autonomous sovereignty of the people, who had just suc- 
ceeded in breaking their fetters and freeing themselves by the impulse of their 
own force. 

And that recognition cannot be denied by the honorable and serious people 
of the United States of America, who ought not to deny nor discuss the word 
given by the officials and representatives in those parts in moments so solemn 
in gravity for the American Republic. 

To pretend to put now in question the attributes of such public function- 
aries, after the danger, would be an act of notorious injustice, which cannot 



iv PROTEST OF THE FILIPINOS. 

be consented to by those who have the unavoidable duty of preservin^^ un- 
stained the brilliant reputation of the sons of the great nation founded by the 
immortal Washington, whose first glory was, and has always been the con- 
stant fulfillment of their word of honor. 

It must be remembered here that the Filipinos did not fight as paid troops 
or mercenaries of America. On their arrival they only received a reduced num- 
ber of arms, which were delivered to them by the order of Admiral Dewey. 
The arms, ammunition and provisions with which the Filipinos have since sus- 
tained the war against the Spanish forces were acquired some by their gallantry 
and others bought with their own funds, these latter being exclusively provided 
by the Filipino patriots. 

And it would not be noble now, after having used the alliance, to deny the 
courage, loyalty and nobility of the Filipino forces in fighting at the side of the 
American troops, lending them a decided support, both enthusiastic and effica- 
cious. Without their co-operation and without the previous siege never would 
the Americans have been able so easily to have gained possession of the walled 
city of Manila. They could — who can deny it ? — have destroyed it by bom- 
bardment, but without the foregoing armed deeds, and without the rigorous 
circle in which the Spanish army was inclosed, the sham fight of the attack 
and surrender which took place could not absolutely have been reaHzed. 

Admiral Dewey gloriously destroyed the Spanish squadron, but he had no 
disembarking forces, and could not inconsiderately dispose of his ammunition 
and provisions, and under such conditions the support which, as companions 
in arms, was lent to him by the Filipino Generals and their forces, is a positive 
and undeniable advantage. Without them General Anderson's troops and 
those which afterward were disembarked probably would not have been able 
to have arrived at Manila before the suspension of hostilities and the signing of 
the protocol of Washington. 

Truth and sincerity in their places. 

Now : If the Spaniards have not been able to transfer to the Americans 
the rights which they did not possess ; if the former have not militarily con- 
quered positions in the Philippines ; if the international officials and represen- 
tatives of the Republic of the United States of America offered to recognize 
the independence and sovereignty of the Philippines, solicited and accepted 
their alliance, how can they now constitute themselves as the sole disposers of 
the control, administration and future government of the Philippine Islands ? 

If in the treaty of Paris there had been simply declared the withdrawal and 
abandonment by the Spaniards of their dominion, if they ever had one, over 
the Filipino territory; if America, on accepting peace, had signed the treaty 
without prejudice to the rights of the Philippines and with a view of coming to 
a subsequent settlement with the existing Filipino National Government, thus 
recognizing the sovereignty of the latter, their aUiance and the carrying out of 



PROTEST OF THE FILIPINOS. v 

their promises of honor to the said Filipinos, it is very evident that no protest 
against their action would have been made. But, in view of the terms of the 
third article of the protocol, the proceedings of the American Commissioners, 
and the imperative necessity of safeguarding the national rights of my coun- 
try, I make this protest, which I have made an extensive one for the before- 
said reasons, and with the corresponding legal restrictions against the action 
taken and the resolutions passed by the Peace Commissioners at Paris and in 
the treaty signed by them. 

And on making this protest I claim, in the name of the Filipino nation, 
in that of their President and Government, the fulfillment of the solemn 
declaration made by the illustrious William McKinley, President of the 
United States of North America, that, on going to war, he was not guided 
by any intention of aggrandizement and extension of national territory, but 
only in respect to the principles of humanity, the duty of liberating tyrannized 
peoples, and the desire to proclaim the unalienable rights, with their sovereignty, 
of the countries released from the yoke of Spain. 

God keep your Excellencies many years, 

Felipe Agoncillo. 



APPENDIX B. 

CONSTITUTION OF THE FILIPINO REPUBLIC. 

Following is the text of the principal articles of the 
Constitution of the so-called Filipino Republic, under which 
Aguinaldo and his followers have proposed to set up a 
government in the Philippine Archipelago. 

PREAMBLE. 

The object of this government is, first of all, to secure for the Filipino 
people the extermination, with a strong hand, of all the vices, wrong?. 
injustices and cruelties which have resulted from Spanish administration 
sustained in luxury and expense upon our people, with extravagance and 
ostentation, and to substitute a government of the Philippine Islands, which 
shall be simple, modest, just, equitable and quick in the execution of public 
service and for the good of the people, and to attain these purposes I decree 
the following as the provisional constitution of the revolutionary government 
of the Philippine Islands : 

CHAPTER I. 

THE REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT. 

The dictatorial government shall henceforth, from the adoption of this 
Constitution, be known as the Revolutionary Government, and its primary 
object shall be to fight for the independence of the Philippine Islands until all 
nations, including Spain, shall recognize the independence and sovereignty 
of these islands, to the end that a permanent and true republic may be 
established. 

The dictator shall from this time forth be known as the President of the 
revolutionary government. 

Four secretaries shall be chosen to assist the President in the conduct of the 
affairs of the government. They shall be the Secretary of State, Marine and 
Commerce, Secretary of War and Public Works, Secretary of Police, Interior, 
Justice, Public Instruction and Health, and Secretary of Finance, Agriculture 
and Industry. 

The President shall have the right to appoint additional secretaries at such 
vi 



CONSTITUTION OF THE FILIPINO REPUBLIC. vii 

times as occasion for them may arise, to meet the demands and rights of public 
service. 

It shall be the general duties of the secretaries to assist the President in the 
transaction of the affairs of the government. No orders issued shall be valid 
or binding unless signed by the President and countersigned by the Secretary 
of the department to which the matter relates. 

The office of Secretary of State shall be divided into three departments, for 
diplomacy, for marine and for commerce. 

The Department of Diplomacy will study and transact all business concern- 
ing the direction of diplomatic matters and negotiations with foreign powers. 

The Department of Marine shall study and transact all business in reference 
to the formation and organization of a navy, and the organization and equip- 
ment of such expeditions as may be desired by the revolutionary government 
in carrying out its purposes and designs. 

The Departm.ent of Commerce will transact all business pertaining to trade, 
both internal and external, and all preliminary work for the making of com- 
mercial treaties with foreign nations. 

The office of the Secretary of War shall be divided into four sub-divisions, for 
the conduct of the campaign, for the administration of military justice, for gen- 
eral commissary and for sanitation. 

The Department of Campaign will have charge of organizing the army, and 
the government of its operations and movements, the making of fortifications, 
the direction of attacks, the nomination of officers, the organization of artillery, 
cavalry and infantry, and the general administration of all matters pertaining 
to the conduct of the campaign. 

The Department of Military Justice shall have the appointment of all court- 
marshals for the trial of offenders against law and order in or connected with 
the army. 

The Commissary Department shall have charge of supplying all provisions 
and equipments for the use of the army. 

The Department of Sanitation shall have charge of all rules for the preser- 
vation of health in the army, the inspection of camps, forts and stations. 

The Department of Public Works shall have charge of all matters and busi- 
ness which concern the construction of public buildings, roads and other con- 
structions for the general welfare. 

The duties of the other secretaries will be made known, together with their 
sub-divisions, in an amendment to this document which shall be made later. 

It shall be the further duty of each secretary to thoroughly oversee and 
superintend personally all matters coming under his department, and to have 
the appointment of clerks and employees as the business of his office shall 
demand. Such subordinates, officers, clerks and employees shall be chosen 
as far as possible among those who have heretofore served their country and 



viii CONSTITUTION OF THE FILIPINO REPUBLIC. 

are known to be in sympathy with its causes, besides reliable and honest. 

It shall be the further duty of the secretaries to assist the Congress in its 
work, to furnish such information and aid as it may be in their power to 
render, but they shall have no power to partake of the business of the 
Congress, except in the name of the President, and shall not be allowed to 
vote in the Congress. The President of the Government is the personification 
of the people, and during his incumbency of office he shall not be impeached. 

The President shall remain in office during the continuance of the revolution, 
unless circumstances shall oblige him to voluntarily retire, when his successor 
shall be chosen by the Representatives in Congress. 

CHAPTER II. 

THE REVOLUTIONARY CONGRESS. 

The Revolutionary Congress shall be the assemblage of the representatives 
of all the provinces of the archipelago of the Philippines, duly elected under 
the decree of June i8th. In case any province has not had occasion to 
elect any representative for the reason that a majority of the population have 
not been free from Spanish domination for sufficient time to express their will 
in the choice of a representative, then the Government shall have the power to 
appoint for that province a provisional representative, who shall be selected 
from among the inhabitants of that province and be of good character and 
standing and in sympathy with the revolutionary cause. 

Upon the assembling of the representatives of the Congress in the place 
and building designated for them, the majority of them shall select five of 
their number who shall act as a Committee on Credentials and examine the 
rights of the others to sit as members of the Congress. The credentials of 
these five shall be examined and passed upon by an additional committee 
similarly selected. Immediately upon the acceptance of the credentials the 
Congress shall proceed to the selection of a president, a vice-president and 
two secretaries, all selected from among themselves, and thereupon notify the 
government of its action. 

The building in which the sessions of the Congress shall be held shall be 
regarded as sacred, and no force of arms shall enter it, except, if necessary, 
upon order of the president to suppress disorder. The functions of the Con- 
gress shall be the enactment of such just laws as shall be for the general wel- 
fare of the people, to provide for the levy and collection of ta-xes, the exe- 
cution of the revolutionary laws, the ratification of treaties, the power to bor- 
row money to provide for the general expenses of the government as sub- 
mitted by the Secretary of Finance, and such other functions as will best con- 
serve the interests of the people of the Philippine Islands during the revo- 
lutionary period. 



CONSTITUTIOX OF THE FILIPINO REPUBLIC. ix 

The Congress shall hear all important questions which may be submitted to 
it in the order in which they are received, to pass upon and enact or reject 
them, but imperative questions will be transmitted to the Congress by the 
President of the Revolutionary Government by special message. 

All sessions of Congress shall be public, except upon such occasions as an 
executive session may be demanded, whea the public shall be excluded. 

Each representative shall have the power and right to represent bills and 
subjects for the enactment into laws, and the same privileges shall be ac- 
corded to the secretaries. 

The Congress shall pass rules for the government of its own deliberations, 
and the president shall have no vote save in case of a tie. 

The President of the government shall have no power to prevent the as- 
sembhng of Congress, although he can call that body together when in his 
province he deems it wise to do so. 

The President shall have the power to veto the acts of Congress, but in 
doing so shall transmit to Congress his reasons for his action. 

Note. — [Additional articles of the Constitution relate to the formation of 
courts of justice by the Congress and provide that a book shall be kept in the 
building occupied by the Congress wherein shall be entered the grand and 
heroic deeds of Filipinos in the service of their country, which shall be a book 
of honor. Another chapter in the Constitution relates solely to the organiza- 
tion, establishment and operations of the military.] 



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